The Presidential Pardon Committee also thanked President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi for his support to the committee as well as the prosecutor-general and the minister of interior for their efforts to make the work of the committee successful, a statement released by committee member and human rights lawyer Tarek El-Awady said.

El-Awady shared the list of the 26 names, with the committee confirming that “it continues to coordinate with all concerned authorities” to release new batches during the next stage.

Since May, the Public Prosecution has ordered the release of hundreds of pretrial detainees in groups as the government and various political forces prepare for the extensive National Political Dialogue that will discuss pressing political, economic and social issues.

Last Thursday, the Egyptian authorities ordered the release of a new group of 46 pretrial detainees, including prominent leftist activist and lawyer Haitham Mohamadein.

Since the launch of preparations for the National Political Dialogue in May and the re-activation of the Presidential Pardon Committee in April, El-Sisi has pardoned a number of high-profile political activists who had received final sentences such as Hossam Mones, Yahia Abdel-Hady, Hisham Fouad and others.

The re-activated pardon committee, which was first formed in 2016, receives the names of prisoners to be considered for presidential pardon from various parties and political forces including the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR), the Human Rights Committee of the House of Representatives and families, as well as directly through its own official website.

The scope of the re-activated committee has been expanded to include imprisoned male and female debtors.