Egyptian blogger released from prison after serving 5 years

by Sydney Caron
edited by CeLynn Siemons

A well-known Egyptian blogger, Alaa Abd El Fattah, was released from prison on Friday morning after serving five years for participating in a protest of military trials, according to the New York Times.

(Photo: Khaled Desouki)

Abd El Fattah was arrested in 2014 for participating in a protest against President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. He was eventually sentenced in 2015 for protesting without a permit which included rioting and violence against the public services at the protest. The plans for his release were concluded on Wednesday, March 27. According to Abd El Fattah’s lawyer, Taher Aboul Nasr, “Abd El Fattah is now required to stay overnight at a police station as part of a five-year probation.”

Abd El Fattah’s family waited outside the Qasr Al-Nil police station in Cairo as he was being released. Security forces surrounded the entrance to the building during his release. In a Facebook post, Abd El Fattah’s sister Mona Seif asked, “What is the rationale behind all the heavy security presence?”

Abd El Fattah previously wrote for a few news outlets before his arrest. He has been arrested several times before for protesting the government. Several human rights organizations pushed for Abd El Fattah’s release, claiming that his arrest was strictly political.

Abd El Fattah comes from a line of rights activists. His sister, Sanaa Seif, was arrested and sentenced to six months in prison in 2016 after insulting the judiciary. He has many family members who are well-known for standing up against the government.

Political activists, journalists, and bloggers have criticized the government in the past, and have faced critical sentences. Many of these activists post their opposing opinions of the government on social media. Most of these posts do not lead to any action against the government due to fear of arrests.