Overview

• Family members said the British-Egyptian activist left Wadi El Natroun prison early Tuesday, a day after President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi issued a pardon.
• The presidency said five other prisoners were also pardoned, and a Cairo court had earlier removed Abd el-Fattah’s name from the government’s terrorism list.
• The National Council for Human Rights petitioned the presidency this month, and Sisi ordered authorities to review clemency requests before approving the pardons.
• Abd el-Fattah, 43, was serving a five-year sentence from a 2021 conviction for spreading false news after years of prior detentions that critics said amounted to arbitrary imprisonment.
• The UK government welcomed the move and the UN had deemed his detention arbitrary, while relatives say he may still face a travel ban despite the court decision.