Egypt‘s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has pardoned a number of prisoners, including prominent activist Ahmed Douma after over 10 years in arbitrary detention.

Lawmaker Tarek al-Khawli, a member of the presidential pardons committee, on Saturday said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Douma had received a presidential pardon. Tarek Elawady, also a committee member, said Douma was among 30 prisoners who had received a pardon.

Douma, a leading figure of Egypt’s 2011 revolution, was arrested in December 2013 during a crackdown on activists following the removal of democratically elected president Mohamed Morsi by the military, then led by Sisi before he took power. 

In 2019, Egypt’s top appeals court sentenced the poet and writer to 15 years in prison. Douma was previously given a 25-year prison sentence in 2015 on charges of clashing with security forces, but a court ordered a retrial. Rights lawyer Khaled Ali said on social media that he was waiting outside Badr prison for the activist’s release.

Rights lawyer Khaled Ali said on social media that he was waiting outside Badr prison for the activist’s release.