There’s a renewed sense of hope for Alaa Abd el-Fattah, the Egyptian-British activist who has come to embody the struggle for civil liberties and human rights in Egypt over the last decade. On September 9, 2025, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered authorities to review a clemency request for Abd el-Fattah, according to the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights. This move, which also includes six other convicts, follows a petition launched just a day earlier by the council, citing the critical family circumstances faced by the prisoners’ relatives.
For those who have followed Egypt’s turbulent recent history, Alaa Abd el-Fattah is a familiar name. At 43, he has spent much of his adult life behind bars, a fate that has turned him into a symbol of resistance to authoritarian rule and a lightning rod for international advocacy. Abd el-Fattah’s journey began long before the 2011 Arab Spring, but it was during those heady days in Tahrir Square that his voice—amplified through blogs and social media—became unmistakable. He helped give voice to a generation’s yearning for change, as reported by Reuters and Devdiscourse.
Yet, the optimism that followed the ousting of Hosni Mubarak quickly faded. The military’s removal of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013, led by then-army chief Sisi, ushered in a sweeping crackdown on dissent. Islamists, leftists, and liberals alike were swept up, and Sisi’s subsequent rise to the presidency in 2014 marked a new chapter of repression. Abd el-Fattah was first jailed in 2014 for protesting without permission. He was sentenced to five years in 2015, released on probation in 2019, but then re-arrested in September that year. In December 2021, he received another five-year sentence—this time for sharing a social media post about a prisoner’s death, a charge often used against government critics, according to Reuters.
Abd el-Fattah’s legal odyssey has been marked by repeated setbacks and what human rights groups describe as deeply unfair trials. His lawyer, Khalid Ali, has long argued that more than two years spent in pre-trial detention should have counted toward his sentence, making him eligible for release in 2024. But Egyptian prosecutors disagreed, insisting he remain incarcerated until January 2027. According to the BBC, this bureaucratic resistance has only deepened the sense of injustice surrounding his case.
His time in prison has not been easy. Family members have described harsh conditions in Cairo’s notorious Tora prison: a cell without sunlight, deprivation of books and news, no exercise, and abuse from guards. In a statement smuggled out in 2019 and later published in a collection of his writings, Abd el-Fattah declared, “My conditions are but a drop in a dark sea of injustice.”
Abd el-Fattah’s family, particularly his mother Laila Soueif, has been relentless in advocating for his release. A former mathematics professor and seasoned activist herself, Soueif has gone on hunger strikes multiple times, most recently beginning September 1, 2025, to protest her son’s continued detention. She ended her most recent strike in July 2025, after losing over 35 kilograms and after repeated appeals from her family, as reported by Reuters. The family’s campaign has also included appeals to the British government—Abd el-Fattah holds dual citizenship—and direct pleas from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to President Sisi, though these efforts had not yielded results until now.
The international spotlight on Abd el-Fattah has only intensified in recent years. His case is regularly cited by human rights organizations as emblematic of the tens of thousands of prisoners of conscience believed to be held in Egyptian jails. These groups allege widespread torture and a lack of due process, a claim the Egyptian government rejects, insisting that all prisoners are detained and treated according to legal procedures. Sisi’s supporters argue that the crackdown on dissent was necessary to stabilize Egypt and that the government has advanced human rights by focusing on jobs and housing. Still, international pressure continues to mount, with the UK government reiterating its support for Abd el-Fattah’s release at every opportunity.
Abd el-Fattah’s activism is rooted in a family steeped in Egypt’s political and intellectual life. His late father, Ahmed Seif, was a prominent human rights lawyer who himself was jailed under both Mubarak and his predecessor, Anwar Sadat. Abd el-Fattah’s sisters are also political activists, and his aunt, Ahdaf Soueif, is a celebrated novelist. The family’s legacy of dissent and advocacy has shaped Abd el-Fattah’s worldview and sustained him through years of hardship.
Despite the many setbacks, Abd el-Fattah has continued to resist from within prison walls. He began a seven-month hunger strike on April 2, 2022, escalating his protest in November of that year to coincide with the opening of COP27, the climate summit that brought global attention to Egypt. He ended the strike only after collapsing and coming close to death, his family said. More recently, after being removed from Egypt’s terrorism list in July 2025, he shifted to a partial hunger strike, signaling both protest and a sliver of hope.
The latest petition for his pardon was launched by Egypt’s National Council for Human Rights, which cited the “critical family circumstances” of the prisoners involved. President Sisi’s order to review the request has been widely reported as a potentially significant development, with Tarek al-Awady, a member of Egypt’s presidential pardons committee, telling Reuters that a decision could come within days. If granted, it would mark a rare victory for Egypt’s embattled civil society and a powerful statement about the enduring importance of international advocacy.
Yet, the outcome remains uncertain. Previous campaigns, both domestic and international, have failed to secure Abd el-Fattah’s release. The Egyptian government has historically resisted foreign criticism, insisting that its legal process is fair and that it is working to provide for its citizens’ basic needs. For Abd el-Fattah and his supporters, the coming days are fraught with anticipation—tinged with both hope and the hard-earned skepticism that comes from years of disappointment.
As the world awaits President Sisi’s decision, Alaa Abd el-Fattah’s story continues to resonate far beyond Egypt’s borders. His journey from Tahrir Square to a prison cell, and perhaps now to a long-awaited freedom, is a testament to the enduring power of resistance—and to the families and communities who refuse to let hope die, no matter how dark the hour.
