For more than a decade, Alaa Abd El-Fattah was one of Egypt’s most recognizable political prisoners — a symbol of the promises and betrayals that followed the Arab Spring. On Tuesday, his family announced that he had finally walked free, a day after President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi granted him and five others a pardon.
The moment was emotional. In Giza, his mother, the academic and activist Laila Soueif, stood beside her son as relatives and friends crowded around, celebrating his release. “We’re happy, of course,” she said. “But our greatest joy will come when there are no political prisoners in Egypt.”
Abd El-Fattah, now in his early forties, first came to prominence as a blogger before the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak. His sharp criticism of government repression made him a fixture of Egypt’s turbulent political life. But it was his outspoken defiance of Sisi, who rose to power in 2014, that sealed his fate. Convicted in 2014 of protesting without permission, he served a 15-year sentence, was briefly freed in 2019, then arrested again and sentenced to another five years.
His case drew global attention. His repeated hunger strikes — including a dramatic episode during Egypt’s hosting of the 2022 United Nations climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh — underscored both his determination and his vulnerability. At one point, he collapsed, was revived with fluids, and resumed his protest.
Abd El-Fattah became a British citizen through his mother in 2021, and his family tirelessly lobbied London for his release. His mother even staged her own hunger strike in Britain last year, meeting Prime Minister Keir Starmer in hopes of pressing the case. “We can take a breath and give happiness a chance,” his sister Mona Seif wrote online after his release, alongside photos of him smiling with family.
The pardon drew swift praise from the United Kingdom. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said she welcomed the news and looked forward to Abd El-Fattah’s return to Britain.
For his supporters, the release is both victory and reminder. One prisoner has been freed, but thousands more remain behind bars in Egypt — a reality that continues to shadow the country’s claims of reform.
Africa Digital News, New York
