British activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah released from prison after receiving pardon

Laila Soueif (centre), the mother of British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah, takes part in a vigil for the pro-democracy activist before his release from prison (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

British pro-democracy activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah was released from prison early on Tuesday after being granted a presidential pardon, according to his campaign.

He and five other prisoners had been pardoned on Monday after the National Council for Human Rights acted on behalf of their families and urged president Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi to consider the prisoners’ situation on “health and humanitarian grounds”.