Hope may be fading for release of Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah
Alaa Abdel Fattah enters his sixth week of hunger strike.
In a surprise move in late April, dozens of Egyptian political prisoners, including journalists, opposition activists and lawmakers, were released from pretrial detention — the second batch since July last year.
The detainees had been behind bars on charges of spreading fake news and/or collaborating with a terrorist organization: accusations that are frequently leveled at government critics to stifle dissent.
The releases came days ahead of the Eid Al Fitr holiday, when some prisoners are often granted amnesty and set free. But it is extremely rare — unheard of, even — for Egypt to release prisoners of conscience as part of its annual amnesty.
Thousands of other opposition figures continue to languish behind bars for no crime other than peaceful dissent. Still, the move has raised rights campaigners' hopes for an easing of the broad security crackdown on dissent, in place since 2013.
