More prisoners released in Egypt ahead of national dialogue
A number of political detainees have been released in preparation for the start of a comprehensive dialogue between the government and the opposition.
CAIRO — Egypt announced in mid-October the release of a new batch of pre-trial detainees as the government prepares to hold a national dialogue with opposition forces called for by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in April.
Tarek al-Khouly, a member of the Coordination's Committee of Partie's Youth Leaders and Politicians and of the Presidential Pardon Committee, announced on his Facebook page on Oct. 16 the release of 25 detainees held in pretrial detention for political issues or issues related to freedom of opinion and expression.
On the same day, Mohamed Abdel Aziz, another member of the Presidential Pardon Committee, published the names of those released.
On Oct. 11, Tariq al-Awadi, a human rights lawyer and member of the Presidential Pardon Committee, announced that the committee is in the process of finalizing the procedures for the release of 70 detainees — the largest number of political prisoners to be released since the reactivation of the Presidential Pardon Committee on April 26.
