The family of Alaa Abdel Fattah, a jailed British-Egyptian dissident on hunger strike, has formally petitioned Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El Sisi for a pardon.
They said his mother, two sisters and 11-year-old son badly needed Abdel Fattah in their lives.
“Last June, I submitted a request for presidential clemency for Alaa, my brother. Today I submitted another one to reaffirm my full dedication to any legal path that would help in resolving my brother’s issue and have him safely reunited with his son,” Mona Seif, a sister to Abdel Fattah, wrote on Twitter.
Alaa Abdel Fattah is currently serving a five-year jail term for spreading false news.
Ms Seif's petition was submitted late on Friday, shortly after Mr El Sisi held a meeting with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the UN climate summit in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh.
The White House said the two leaders discussed human rights, as well as the impact of the war in Ukraine on the global economy and food supplies, regional security challenges, Egypt's water rights and the longstanding defence partnership between Washington and Cairo.
Mr Biden, who was making his first visit to Egypt since taking office in 2020, later left for a series of summits in Asia, including the G20 meeting being hosted by Indonesia.
Abdel Fattah's case was raised earlier in the week during talks in Sharm El Sheikh between Mr El Sisi and the leaders of Britain, France and Germany, who called for his release.
Their calls caused an uproar on pro-government media, with many accusing the western leaders of meddling in Egypt’s domestic affairs.
Abdel Fattah's other sister, Sanaa, was in Sharm El Sheikh's climate summit this week campaigning for her brother's release. She addressed two news conferences on the issue earlier in theweek and on Saturday took part in the summit's largest rally to date by environmental and rights activists.
The protesters chanted "free them all" and "no climate justice without human rights"
Ms Abdel Fattah did not address the crowd during the protest, which took place in the "Blue Zone" - the main summit venue that's under UN control for the duration of the two-week gathering.
Abdel Fattah, 40, a prominent figure in the 2011 uprising that forced long-time leader Hosni Mubarak to step down, has spent the better part of the past decade in prison. He began a partial hunger strike in April and escalated it this week by refusing to take liquids, according to his family.
His family has claimed that Abdel Fattah was being force-fed. Authorities said on Thursday that he was in good health. They also cast doubt on whether he was on a hunger strike.
In her petition, Ms Seif said her brother was desperately needed by his family because he was the only male left after her father, veteran rights campaigner Ahmed Seif Al Islam, died seven years ago.
“But the most important consideration is that Alaa is the father of an only child who has been diagnosed with dyslexia,” she wrote. She said the boy, Khaled, suffered shock after his father went back to prison in September 2019 after a six-month period of freedom.
The government has said Abdel Fattah is being treated in accordance with prison regulations and the penal code, and was receiving the medical care afforded to all inmates.
President El Sisi, in office since 2014, recently approved the release of nearly 1,000 critics who had been held in pretrial detention. In April, he called for a national dialogue to chart the country’s political future, which is currently in the preparatory stage and expected to begin before next year.
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MATCH INFO
Tottenham Hotspur 0 Everton 1 (Calvert-Lewin 55')
Man of the Match Allan (Everton)
THE SPECS
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On sale: this week
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Multitasking pays off for money goals
Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O'Neill at least $1 million.
That's how much Ms O'Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in the US, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home.
"I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, I hit the million-dollar mark, but I could've had $2 million," Ms O'Neill says.
Too often, financial experts say, people want to attack their money goals one at a time: "As soon as I pay off my credit card debt, then I'll start saving for a home," or, "As soon as I pay off my student loan debt, then I'll start saving for retirement"."
People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.
"By putting off saving for the future, you are really inhibiting yourself from benefiting from that wonderful magic," says Kimberly Zimmerman Rand , an accredited financial counsellor and principal at Dragonfly Financial Solutions in Boston. "If you can start saving today ... you are going to have a lot more five years from now than if you decide to pay off debt for three years and start saving in year four."
The Kites
Romain Gary
Penguin Modern Classics
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
