On September 9, 2025, Egypt’s long-standing struggle with human rights and political dissent took a dramatic turn as President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi ordered authorities to review a humanitarian appeal for the release of one of the country’s most prominent activists, Alaa Abd el-Fattah. The move, which could see Abd el-Fattah and several other prisoners freed within days, comes after years of mounting domestic and international pressure—and signals a potential, if tentative, shift in the government’s approach to political prisoners.
Alaa Abd el-Fattah, a British-Egyptian dual national and a central figure in Egypt’s 2011 Arab Spring uprising, has spent much of the past decade behind bars. According to the Associated Press, Abd el-Fattah was sentenced in 2021 to five years in prison on charges of “spreading false news”—a conviction that many rights groups and foreign governments have condemned as politically motivated. He has been imprisoned since September 2019, but his legal saga stretches back even further: in 2014, he was sentenced to another five-year term for protesting without a permit, only to be released on probation in 2019 before being detained again.
The current push for Abd el-Fattah’s release began in earnest on September 8, 2025, when Egypt’s National Council for Human Rights submitted a humanitarian appeal to President el-Sissi. The appeal cited “critical family circumstances” and urged the president to consider pardoning Abd el-Fattah and six other convicted individuals on humanitarian and health grounds. “Such a decision would represent a deeply significant moral incentive for the families of those mentioned and would substantially contribute to restoring their stability as well as their psychological and social balance,” the council’s appeal stated, as reported by AP.
President el-Sissi’s office responded swiftly, announcing the next day that the relevant authorities had been ordered to review the appeal. This marks the first time the president has publicly directed officials to consider Abd el-Fattah’s case after years of both domestic and international advocacy. According to Tarek el-Awady, a human rights lawyer and member of the presidential pardon committee, “This is the first time the president orders authorities to look into this appeal after multiple local and international calls for his release.” El-Awady added that the order followed a recent court decision to remove Abd el-Fattah’s name from a terrorism list, a move that could clear the way for his immediate release.
El-Awady told AP that Abd el-Fattah could be freed within days and would not face additional release procedures, meaning he could "instantly walk out of prison." The news has generated cautious optimism among his supporters and family. His sister, Sanaa Souief, expressed hope on social media, posting, “This is really promising, we hope these authorities follow through with urgency and that Alaa will be reunited with us soon.”
Abd el-Fattah’s case has become a touchstone for Egypt’s broader human rights record. Since the 2011 revolution that toppled longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak, Egypt has seen a dramatic rollback of political freedoms, with thousands of activists, journalists, and opposition figures imprisoned. Abd el-Fattah’s repeated detentions have made him a symbol of the country’s democratic backslide—a status underscored by the international outcry over his imprisonment.
The British government, for instance, has lobbied for Abd el-Fattah’s release since he gained British citizenship in 2021, as noted by OkayAfrica. His plight has also drawn attention from human rights organizations worldwide, many of whom view his imprisonment as emblematic of Egypt’s harsh crackdown on dissent under President el-Sissi’s rule.
Abd el-Fattah’s prolonged detention has taken a heavy toll on his family. His mother, Laila Soueif, began a hunger strike on September 29, 2024, in protest of his continued incarceration. The hunger strike, which lasted eight months, left her seriously ill and frequently hospitalized in London. She eventually ended her protest in July 2025 after multiple appeals from her family and the broader community, who feared for her deteriorating health. According to AP, her actions were motivated by the belief that “the government must respond to legitimate public demands,” a sentiment echoed by many Egyptians frustrated with the state of civil liberties in the country.
Abd el-Fattah himself has resorted to hunger strikes in the past. Earlier this month, he reportedly began another such protest, following a precedent set in 2022 when he went on a seven-month hunger strike that ended only after he collapsed and was near death, as reported by OkayAfrica. Hunger strikes have become a desperate tactic for many Egyptian prisoners seeking to draw attention to their cases and force government action.
Despite a prior expectation that Abd el-Fattah would be released in 2024, Egyptian authorities refused to count more than two years he spent in pre-trial detention toward his sentence, instead ordering him to remain in prison until January 2027. This legal maneuver further fueled criticism from rights groups, who argue that Egypt’s use of pre-trial detention as a punitive measure undermines the rule of law.
The latest developments have sparked cautious optimism among activists and observers. El-Awady, the human rights lawyer, argued that Abd el-Fattah’s release would send a powerful message: “This is the perfect opportunity to rebuild trust between citizens and the state. Similar cases should be among the state’s priorities as this has an impact on Egypt internally and internationally.” He added that freeing Abd el-Fattah would demonstrate the government’s willingness to respond to public concerns and could help restore some measure of social stability.
Not everyone is convinced that the move heralds a broader shift. Some critics argue that the government’s decision is motivated more by international pressure and the desire to improve Egypt’s image abroad than by a genuine commitment to reform. Still, the fact that the president has ordered a review of the case after years of intransigence is seen as a significant development by many observers.
For Abd el-Fattah’s family, the possibility of his release is a source of hope after years of uncertainty and hardship. His sister’s words capture the cautious optimism felt by many: “We hope these authorities follow through with urgency and that Alaa will be reunited with us soon.”
As Egypt awaits a final decision, the case of Alaa Abd el-Fattah remains a litmus test for the government’s willingness to address longstanding human rights concerns—and for the country’s future direction as it grapples with the legacy of the Arab Spring.