Egyptian authorities releasing new batch of 33 pretrial detainees: Pardon committee

Ahram Online , Wednesday 1 Mar 2023

Egyptian authorities are currently finishing the release procedures of 33 pretrial detainees, according to an announcement posted on Facebook on Wednesday by lawyer Tarek El-Awady, who is a member of the Presidential Pardon Committee.

Pardon committee
File Photo: Inmates leaving the prison of Tora Farm Prison after they were set free. Al-Ahram

 

The to-be released detainees were jailed pending investigation in different cases that went back to 2019 and 2020.

According to El-Awady, Al-Masry Al-Youm journalist Ahmed Mohamed Allam, who was arrested in April 2020 for a number of charges, including spreading false news, is among the batch.

Leftist activist Ziyad Abu El-Fadl, Khaled Abdel-Mohsen Abdel-Rahim, Mohamed Sobhy Batikh, Abdo Lotfy Abu Sena and Karim Ahmed are also among the 33 pretrial detainees.

Since the reactivation of the Presidential Pardon Committee in April 2022, more than 1,000 pretrial detainees have been released and 12 convicts have been pardoned.

Pardons and release orders have included high-profile figures, including political activists Hossam MonesYahia Abdel-HadyHisham Fouad, as well as leftist activist and lawyer Haitham Mohamadein.

The committee was originally established in 2016 to review the cases of those imprisoned for political crimes and others who meet certain criteria set by the committee.

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

Short link: