Prominent activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah has been pardoned by the Egyptian president. Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has ordered the release of prominent activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah , the Egyptian state-run outlet Al Ahram reported on Monday.

Abd El-Fattah, a 42-year-old dual Egyptian British citizen, has remained in prison despite completing his sentence last year, according to his family, which had been appealing to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to help secure his release.

Arrested repeatedly since the height of the Egyptian uprising in 2011, Abd El-Fattah was sentenced in 2021 to an additional five years in jail for spreading false news and assaulting a police officer – charges that human rights organizations say were politically motivated.

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