CAIRO (AP) – Egyptian authorities released two activists and a journalist Sunday after months in pre-trial detention, officials and lawyers said, amid concern over the arrest and harassment of government critics.
State security prosecutors ordered the release of the three late Saturday pending ongoing investigations into charges against them, according to two judicial officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
Esraa Abdel-Fattah, a pro-democracy activist and writer, walked free early Sunday, her sister Shimaa wrote in a Facebook post. She was a co-founder of the April 6 movement that played a crucial role in the 2011 pro-democracy uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
Abdel-Fattah was arrested in October 2019 in a city west of Cairo, during a crackdown that followed small but rare anti-government protests. Hundreds were arrested at the time, but many were later released.
She faces charges of spreading false news, being a member of a banned group and misuse of social media, but despite the lengthy detention has yet to stand trial, according her lawyers.
Authorities also released journalist Gamal el-Gamal, said rights lawyer Nasser Amin. El-Gamal is widely known for his columns critical of the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi. Amin posted a photo on Facebook showing him sitting with el-Gamal at home after his release.
Security forces arrested el-Gamal in February upon arrival at Cairo International Airport from Turkey, where he had lived since 2017.
El-Gamal was charged with spreading false news, joining a terrorist organization and inciting public opinion against state institutions.
Authorities also released Abdel-Nasser Ismail, deputy head of the Socialist People’s Alliance Party, after roughly two years in pre-trial detention, his brother Abdel-Mawla Ismail said.
Ismail was arrested in the September 2019 crackdown. He was accused of spreading false news and of joining a terrorist organization.