Release of activist prisoners after international scrutiny

Egypt announced yesterday the release of 30 political activists from jail, the latest in a series of mass releases from detention amid intensifying international scrutiny over the country’s human rights record. There was no immediate word on the identities of the activists and it was not immediately possible to confirm how many of them have already been freed. The announcement came from Tarik el-Awady, a member of Egypt’s presidential pardon committee. He said the 30 had been in pre-trial detention, facing charges related to their ‘‘opinions.’’ El-Awady later posted photographs, describing them as showing several of the freed detainees hugging family members and friends.