Alaa Abdel Fattah, a prominent British-Egyptian activist, has been freed and reunited with his family after spending the past six years in jail in Egypt.
One of the country's most recognizable political prisoners, he was pardoned by Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi on Monday.
Video footage showed the 43-year-old blogger and pro-democracy activist celebrating his return home, beaming with joy alongside his mother, Laila Soueif, and sister, Sanaa Seif.
Sanaa reflected on the moment as a collective hope for all those who have faced political imprisonment.
She expressed aspirations that this could lead to the release of other prisoners detained under President Sisi's rule, aiming to close what she referred to as a very dark chapter for Egypt.
The UK’s Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper, acknowledged the importance of this pardon, thanking President Sisi for the decision and expressing eagerness for Abdel Fattah to reunite with his family in the UK.
After being released from Wadi al-Natrun prison, Abdel Fattah's mother, who undertook a lengthy hunger strike in protest against his imprisonment, expressed her emotional relief, stating: I can't even describe what I feel. She added, We're happy, of course. But our greatest joy will come when there are no [political] prisoners in Egypt.
In a revealing interview, his sister Mona spoke of her longing to visit him as she awaited flights to Egypt, reflecting on the emotional toll of his imprisonment since the Arab Spring protests that ousted long-time President Hosni Mubarak.
Abdel Fattah's release has been celebrated by human rights groups around the world, marking it as a vital moment for a country currently facing criticism for its record on political freedoms.
The pardon has produced mixed emotions for his family, as they hope for not just his freedom, but the liberation of many others still imprisoned for political reasons under Sisi's regime.
Mona emphasized that her brother's release serves as a ray of hope for the thousands still awaiting their own freedom, signifying a potential shift in the trajectory of Egypt's human rights landscape.
