The four pretrial detainees who were released are Mohamed Ibrahim, Ahmed Fathy, Ayman Mohamed, and Bahar Mahmoud.

Under the penal code, the authorities can detain those facing investigation in pretrial detention for up to two years.

Coinciding with the launch of the National Dialogue in Cairo, the latest batch of detainees was released.

During the inaugural session, several speakers raised the issue of pretrial detainees and emphasized the need for their release.

Since the spring of 2022, the Public Prosecution has ordered the release of hundreds of pretrial detainees in successive batches ahead of the national dialogue.

So far, over 1,000 pretrial detainees have been released.

The Presidential Pardon Committee, which was first established in 2016 and reactivated by the President in 2022, reviews the cases of political prisoners before recommending their release to the prosecution.

The committee receives requests for release from entities such as the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR), parliament’s Human Rights Committee, and through its website.

In addition, over the past year, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has granted pardon to 12 high-profile political activists who were serving jail sentences in various cases.