File Photo: Egypt’s High Court in downtown Cairo. AFP
According to Ali, the decision to remove Abdel-Fattah was issued by the court’s first circuit.
Abdel-Fattah, a well-known blogger and activist, was added to the list in 2020 for a five-year term under a criminal court ruling.
Under Egypt’s 2015 anti-terrorism law, inclusion on the list carries travel bans and asset freezes.
The 43-year-old was arrested in September 2019 and spent two years in pretrial detention before receiving a five-year prison sentence in 2021 for "spreading false news." He had previously served a five-year sentence beginning in 2014 for protesting without a permit and was released on probation in 2019.
In November 2022, Abdel-Fattah's family appealed to President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi for a presidential pardon, citing the earlier release of former MP Ziad El-Eleimy under a similar request.
In May, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer raised Abdel-Fattah’s case with President El-Sisi during a phone call, urging his release, according to a statement from the British Prime Minister’s Office.
Last week, Abdel-Fattah’s mother, renowned Egyptian-British academic, Dr Laila Soueif, ended a hunger strike in the UK that she had begun in September to demand her son’s freedom
Additionally, the Cairo First-Degree Criminal Court, Fifth Circuit at Badr, issued rulings to remove six others from Egypt’s terrorist entities list.
In Case No. 220 of 2018, investigated by the Supreme State Security Prosecution, the court ordered the removal of five names — Aisha Abdelrahman Mohamed Seoudi, Hamad Mohamed Zaki Ali Hammad, Mohamed Tharwat Zeinhom Ali, Abdelrahman Hassan Mohamed Hassan, and Tawheeda Mohamed El-Ghareeb Mohamed Ramadan — following a request by the Public Prosecutor.
Aisha Seoudi is the daughter of prolific Egyptian businessman Abdelrahman Seoudi, accused of funding the Muslim Brotherhood.
In Case No. 449 of 2015, investigated by the Helwan Criminal Court, the same judicial circuit ordered the delisting of Ahmed Mohamed Adel Mostafa.
Both rulings were issued in closed sessions and later published in the Official Gazette.
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