Mahienour El Masry, left, a prominent activist and rights lawyer, takes notes during a 2014 trial in Cairo. AP
Mahienour El Masry, left, a prominent activist and rights lawyer, takes notes during a 2014 trial in Cairo. AP
Mahienour El Masry, left, a prominent activist and rights lawyer, takes notes during a 2014 trial in Cairo. AP
Mahienour El Masry, left, a prominent activist and rights lawyer, takes notes during a 2014 trial in Cairo. AP

Egypt frees prominent activists before Eid Al Adha


Soraya Ebrahimi
  • English
  • Arabic

Egyptian activists and journalists were released from custody on Sunday following months of detention on charges including joining or aiding a terrorist group and spreading false news, their lawyers said.

Egyptian authorities have in recent months released detainees ahead of major Muslim holidays.

Sunday's releases come two days ahead of Eid Al Adha, one of the two most important festivals of the Islamic calendar.

Esraa Abdelfattah, an activist and journalist, was among the organisers of Egypt's January 2011 uprising that ended the 30-year rule of Hosni Mubarak.

Abdelfattah was released from custody in Cairo early on Sunday, more than 21 months after her arrest, her lawyer Ahmed Ragheb told Reuters.

"I spoke to her, she is doing very well," Mr Ragheb said. "Her spirits are high and she is surely very happy with this decision, in order to resume her life."

But he said Abdelfattah's case remained open and investigations were continuing despite her release.

Activist and lawyer Mahienour El Masry, journalist Moataz Wednan, columnist Gamal Al Gamal, leftist politician Abdel Nasser Ismail and journalist Mostafa Al Asar were also freed.

But the charges against them are also still pending, their lawyer said.

Egyptian authorities did not comment. Cairo's state information service confirmed their release but said no government statements on the matter were immediately available.

Abdelfattah was a co-founder of the April 6 Youth Movement, which has been banned by the Egyptian government for years.

She was arrested shortly after small, scattered demonstrations in Egypt in September 2019.

Wednan was arrested in 2018 after interviewing former anti-corruption chief Hisham Genena, who was trying to have a former military chief-of-staff elected in a challenge to President Abdel Fattah El Sisi that year.

TCL INFO

Teams:
Punjabi Legends 
Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan

Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
When December 14-17

Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed

Based: Muscat

Launch year: 2018

Number of employees: 40

Sector: Online food delivery

Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception 

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'Unrivaled: Why America Will Remain the World’s Sole Superpower'
Michael Beckley, Cornell Press

Nepotism is the name of the game

Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad. 

Updated: July 18, 2021, 10:08 PM