International News
Egypt’s Sisi Pardons Activist Alaa Abdel Fattah
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi issued a pardon on Monday for prominent activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, who has been jailed for the better part of the past decade, state-linked media reported.
The 43-year-old British-Egyptian national, who was pardoned alongside five others, was a leading figure in Egypt’s 2011 uprising and was jailed under each administration since.
Following his latest arrest in 2019, Abdel Fattah was sentenced in December 2021 to five years in prison for “spreading false news” after sharing a Facebook post about alleged torture in Egyptian jails.
Sisi pardoned “a number of convicted persons, after taking the constitutional and legal procedures in this regard”, said Al-Qahera News, which is linked to Egypt’s state intelligence service.
“The pardon includes… Alaa Ahmed Seif El-Islam Abdel Fattah,” it added.
Alaa’s mother, activist and academic Laila Soueif, recently ended a 10-month hunger strike demanding his release.
Abdel Fattah himself has been on hunger strike since the start of September, following a partial strike that began in March in solidarity with his mother.
“President Sisi has pardoned my brother! Mum & I are heading to the prison now to inquire from where Alaa will be released and when.” Abdel Fattah’s sister, Sanaa Seif, posted on X.
“I can’t believe we get our lives back!” she added.
His other sister, Mona Seif, also posted shortly after the pardon, saying, “My heart is going to stop.”
Abdel Fattah’s sentence was due to end in September 2024, but authorities refused to count his remand period as part of his sentence.
Tarek al-Awady, a member of Egypt’s presidential pardons committee, said all procedures have been finalised and the prison awaits the arrival of the presidential decree for implementation.
“He will be released directly from Wadi al-Natrun Prison,” Awady told AFP, referring to a major prison complex located on the outskirts of Cairo.
Pardon Petition
Monday’s pardon comes after Sisi earlier this month ordered relevant authorities to study a petition submitted by the state-affiliated National Council for Human Rights to pardon a number of individuals, including Abdel Fattah.
It also followed a decision by a Cairo criminal court to remove Abdel Fattah from the country’s terrorism list, ruling that recent investigations showed no evidence linking him to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.
The British government has consistently raised Abdel Fattah’s case with Egyptian authorities, including during talks between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Sisi.
In May, a United Nations panel of experts determined his detention was arbitrary and illegal and called for his immediate release.
Last month, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk also urged the Egyptian authorities to end a practice allowing the prolonged arbitrary detention of government critics.
The practice, known as “rotation,” often involves lodging new charges against detainees just before their remand period comes to an end.
Turk said the practice “appears to be used to circumvent the rights of individuals to liberty, due process, and equality before the law.”
Since 2022, Sisi’s administration has released hundreds of detainees and pardoned several high-profile dissidents, including Abdel Fattah’s lawyer Mohamed al-Baqer.
Despite Abdel Fattah’s pardon, hundreds of other activists and politicians remain behind bars.
AFP
Jeremy Doku insisted Manchester “will keep on fighting” in the Premier League title race despite their “painful” draw with Everton on Monday.
City drew 3-3 with the Toffees at Hill Dickinson Stadium, with Doku scoring a 97th-minute equaliser, having also scored the opening goal.
Doku’s equaliser (96:49) is City’s third-latest goal on record (since 2006-07) in a Premier League game after John Stones’ strike against Arsenal in September 2024 (97:14) and Gabriel Jesus’ goal against Everton in February 2019 (96:52).
Doku has had a hand in six goals across his last five games for City in all competitions (four goals, two assists), as many as in his previous 22 games combined (one goal, five assists).
The Belgian also created the most chances in the match against Everton (four), completed the most dribbles (5/7) and won the most duels (14/19).
City avoided defeat in a Premier League game despite trailing by 2+ goals as late as the 82nd minute for the first time since March 2012 against Sunderland (3-3).
They went on to win the league title in 2011-12, and Doku believes City can still beat Arsenal to the trophy this season.
“First half, we played well and created a lot of chances. We know if we don’t score those chances, it is going to get difficult at the end,” said Doku.
“Obviously, they are at their own stadium, they create chances, and they are dangerous, and they scored two goals, but I think we gave them the game.
“Good that we came back because one point is not bad in games like this.
“We will see. It feels painful now. There is still a lot of games to go. We lost two points, but we know that one point can be important at the end.
“We will keep on fighting. We owe it to ourselves and to our fans.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Nigerians interested in repatriation from South Africa will be responsible for the cost of their return trip to Nigeria.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, stated this during a press briefing on Monday in Abuja.
The briefing came shortly after a closed-door meeting between the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dunoma Ahmed, and the South African Acting High Commissioner, Lesoli Machele.
Mr Ebienfa said the process will be self-funded and not state-funded, as it is a voluntary decision that the Nigerian government will only facilitate and coordinate.
In the recent past, such reparations have been sponsored by Nigerian airline owners, particularly Allen Onyema, the CEO of Air Peace.
The Nigerian government, on Sunday, indicated its readiness to repatriate its citizens from South Africa due to xenophobic violence.
The effort primarily targets Nigerians who feel threatened by the xenophobic violence and tension in parts of South Africa, as the protests against black immigrants in the country continue. Two Nigerians were killed last month.
Since the announcement, about 130 Nigerians in South Africa have expressed a willingness to return home voluntarily.
Mr Ebienfa stated that the return of the Nigerians depends on their financial capacity, as they would be expected to fund their trip back home individually.
He said, “Those willing to leave are expected to approach the high commission and, given that their decision is voluntary, have the resources to fund their return to Nigeria.”
The government will not “provide an aircraft from Nigeria to convey them.”
He also noted that the speed of the repatriation process will be determined by the availability of funds.
“Yes, 130 as of this morning have registered, but actualisation would be required to have their flight ticket to move back to Nigeria.”
Mr Ebienfa also explained that Nigerians who have so far expressed interest are motivated either by concerns about threats to their lives or by fear of arrest by South African law enforcement agencies.
“There are two groups of Nigerians who want to come back. One group feels the country is not safe for them and wants to come. They have all their papers intact.
“Then there is also the second group that has travel document violations or resident permit violations. And instead of running away from law enforcement, they are appealing that the government facilitate their movement back to Nigeria,” he explained.
However, he noted that the process is still being worked out and that the government would step in to provide aircraft or other needed assistance if tensions rise and the situation becomes more volatile.
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