El-Sissi pardons Arab activist after nearly a decade in prison
LONDON >> Egypt's president on Saturday pardoned a prominent democracy activist serving a 15-year prison sentence for his role in protests that followed the 2011 revolution, according to the activist's lawyer and Egyptian state news media.
The pardon decree by the president, Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, was the latest in a string of high-profile prisoner releases by his regime.
The activist, Ahmed Douma, a blogger and protest leader, was one of the bestknown faces of the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak. A court sentenced Douma to 25 years prison in 2015 on charges of rioting and attacking the security forces, a punishment later reduced to 15 years. Rights groups called the accusations a cover for a wide-ranging crackdown on dissent by el-Sissi.
Douma's lawyer, Khaled Ali, announced on social media Saturday that his client had been released from Badr Prison outside Cairo.
Egyptian authorities did not provide any public explanation for the timing or rationale behind the presidential pardon. But over the past year, el-Sissi's government has sought to show a commitment to greater political openness in the run-up to the country's 2024 presidential elections by engaging in dialogue with the opposition and releasing some political prisoners.
The United States has linked about $320 million of its $1.3 billion in military aid provided annually to Egypt on human rights bench marks, including the release of political prisoners. On Aug. 10, several Democratic representatives wrote to Secretary of State Antony Blinken to urge him to withhold the aid until more progress was made.
Two other well-known Egyptian political prisoners — Mohammad el-Baqer, a rights lawyer, and Patrick Zaki, a graduate student — were released last month after years in prison. Both had been accused of “spreading fake news,” a charge frequently leveled against perceived opponents of the government.
Douma was arrested in 2013 for insulting then-President Mohammed Morsi, a democratically elected leader, and was given a six-month suspended sentence. After elSissi wrested power from Morsi in a military coup in early July 2013 amid mass protests, Douma again was arrested.