Egyptian justice ordered, this Sunday, the release of 41 political prisoners in preventive detention for some for years, according to an Egyptian deputy.

Mohamed el-Sadat recently negotiated the release of many activists in this country where tens of thousands of opponents are behind bars.

This MP promised on Facebook "more releases", alluding to "presidential pardons", traditionally granted to hundreds of prisoners for the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan scheduled for early May.

One of the founders of the April 6 Movement among the liberated

Among those released on Sunday are Walid Shawky, one of the founders of the April 6 Movement, spearheading the 2011 "revolution" that overthrew President Hosni Mubarak.

Mr. Shawky had been on hunger strike since February to denounce his three years of preventive detention, a regime legally limited to two years.

But, according to a technique frequently used by judges, he was declared free at this term before being immediately charged with other charges.

Journalist Mohammed Salah suffered the same fate and responded like him to "false information" and "terrorism".

Just like Haitham al-Banna, a member of the liberal Al-Dostour party detained in February for a post commemorating the "revolution", and the researcher Abdou Fayed, arrested in May 2020 for having criticized the government's management of Covid-19.

A fifth activist was also released: Hassan Barbari, arrested in 2019 in the "Coalition of Hope" case where several opponents had been arrested for trying to run for legislative elections, AFP told AFP. lawyer Khaled Ali.

Radwa Mohamed, jailed for criticizing President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi in online videos, is among those released, his lawyer Nabih al-Ganadi reported.

Releases requested by the president according to several deputies

Several pro-Sissi deputies assured that the president was behind these releases officially ordered by an independent justice.

The accusation of "terrorism", initially reserved for the Muslim Brotherhood, the brotherhood of President Mohamed Morsi overthrown in 2013 by Mr. Sissi, was then used more widely against most pro-democracy parties and organizations.

This week, four comedians from Upper Egypt were arrested for "false information" and "terrorism" after a song denouncing price hikes was widely reported online.

Released in January, Egyptian-Palestinian activist Ramy Shaath described prison "hell" to AFP, while Egypt's most famous political prisoner, Alaa Abdel Fattah, recently turned British, has been on hunger strike since on April 2 to denounce his conditions of detention.

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