Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Saturday, May 31, 2025

Prominent Egyptian activist freed after presidential pardon

Prominent Egyptian activist freed after presidential pardon

Prominent political activist Hossam Monis was serving a four-year sentence on terror charges deemed baseless by rights groups.

Egyptian authorities have released a prominent political activist serving a four-year sentence on terror charges that rights advocates have deemed baseless.

Hossam Monis’s release came on the heels of the release of several high-profile detainees, days before the end of the holy month of Ramadan, which is typically a time of amnesty.

It followed a pardon by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Wednesday.

Following the news, images of Monis hugging friends and family outside the prison walls flooded social media.

Prominent film director Khaled Youssef posted a photograph of himself and former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahi with Monis as soon as he walked free.

Opposition leader Khaled Dawoud wrote on his Facebook page that Monis got into a car with his mother and headed home after his release.

Monis was arrested in June 2019, along with seven other people, including Zyad el-Elaimy, a former legislator, and key secular activists in the country’s 2011 uprising.

Their arrests came shortly after they had met political parties and opposition legislators to try and hash out how to run in the 2020 parliamentary elections.

Last year, the Misdemeanors State Security Emergency Court in Cairo found Monis and other defendants guilty of conspiring to commit crimes with an outlawed group – a reference to the Muslim Brotherhood, which Egypt has banned as a terrorist organisation.

Monis and Hisham Fouad, another activist and journalist, were sentenced to four years in prison each while el-Elaimy received a five-year sentence.

The verdicts stirred outrage from local and international human rights groups. Both el-Elaimy and Fouad remain behind bars.


El-Sisi on Wednesday passed a decree granting Monis amnesty, a few hours after he had reactivated the Presidential Pardon Committee and appointed new members.

The committee, in charge of reviewing cases of prisoners held for political crimes, has been quite ineffective since its creation in 2016.

On Sunday, authorities freed 41 detainees — including several prominent writers and activists — who had been held without a trial date.

Some independent observers believe the government is trying to reach out to the political opposition in the middle of a grinding economic crisis sparked by the Russian war on Ukraine.

Thousands of political prisoners, however, are estimated to remain in Egyptian jails.

El-Sisi’s government has in recent years waged a wide-scale crackdown on dissent, jailing thousands of people, mainly Islamists, but also secular activists involved in the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that toppled longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
European and Arab Ministers Convene in Madrid to Address Gaza Conflict
Head of Gaza Aid Group Resigns Amid Humanitarian Concerns
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
Netanyahu Accuses Starmer of Siding with Hamas
Calls Grow to Resume Syrian Asylum Claims in UK
UAE Offers Free ChatGPT Plus Subscriptions to Citizens
Denmark Increases Retirement Age to 70, Setting a European Precedent
Iranian Director Jafar Panahi Wins Palme d'Or at Cannes
Israeli Airstrike Kills Nine Children of Gaza Doctor
Lebanon Initiates Plan to Disarm Palestinian Factions
Iran and U.S. Make Limited Progress in Nuclear Talks
Trump Administration's Tariff Policies and Dollar Strategy Spark Global Economic Debate
OpenAI Acquires Jony Ive’s Startup for $6.5 Billion to Build a Revolutionary “Third Core Device”
Turkey Weighs Citizens in Public as Erdoğan Launches National Slimming Campaign
UK Suspends Trade Talks with Israel Amid Gaza Offensive
Iran and U.S. Set for Fifth Round of Nuclear Talks Amid Rising Tensions
Russia Expands Military Presence Near Finland Amid Rising Tensions
Indian Scholar Arrested in Crackdown Over Pakistan Conflict Commentary
Israel Eases Gaza Blockade Amid Internal Dispute Over Military Strategy
President Biden’s announcement of advanced prostate cancer sparked public sympathy—but behind closed doors, Democrats are in panic
Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki Erupts Again, Spewing Ash Cloud over Flores Island
Indian jet shootdown: the all-robot legion behind China’s PL-15E missiles
The Chinese Dragon: The True Winner in the India-Pakistan Clash
Australia's Venomous Creatures Contribute to Life-Saving Antivenom Programme
The Spanish Were Right: Long Working Hours Harm Brain Function
Did Former FBI Director Call for Violence Against Trump? Instagram Post Sparks Uproar
US and UAE Partner to Develop Massive AI Data Center Complex
Apple's $95 Million Siri Settlement: Eligible Users Have Until July 2 to File Claims
US and UAE Reach Preliminary Agreement on Nvidia AI Chip Imports
President Trump and Elon Musk Welcomed by Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim with Cybertruck Convoy
Strong Warning Issued: Do Not Use General Chatbots for Medical, Legal, or Educational Guidance
NVIDIA and Saudi Arabia Launch Strategic Partnership to Establish AI Centers
Trump Meets Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara in Historic Encounter
US and Saudi Arabia Sign Landmark Agreements Across Multiple Sectors
Why Saudi Arabia Rolled Out a Purple Carpet for Donald Trump Instead of Red
Elon Musk Joins Trump Meeting in Saudi Arabia
Trump says it would be 'stupid' not to accept gift of Qatari plane
Quantum Computing Threatens Bitcoin Security
Michael Jordan to Serve as Analyst for NBA Games
Senate Democrats Move to Censure Trump Over Qatar Jet Gift
Hamas Releases Last Living US Hostage from Gaza Amid Ongoing Conflict
×