On September 15th 2014, the Cairo Criminal Court ordered the provisional release of Alaa Abdel Fattah along with Ahmed Abdel Rahman and Wael Metwalli after more than three months imprisonment.
Alaa Abdel Fatah, civil and political rights activist had been on hunger strike since August 18th. He was facing a re-trial with 24 other activists, after they were sentenced in absentia on June 11, 2014 to 15 years imprisonment on a number of charges related to a protest in front of the Shura Council in November 26, 2013. The judge presiding over the retrial stepped down at the request of defense lawyers, and the retrial will begin once a new presiding judge has been assigned to the case.
FIDH has been strongly mobilized on the case of Abdel Fattah through its #ForFreedom campaign.
FIDH welcomes this provisional release and calls upon the Egyptian judicial authorities to unconditionally drop all charges.
For more information
EGYPT: human rights defender Alaa Abdel Fattah released on bail
