CAIRO – A leading Egyptian pro-democracy activist was freed from prison early Friday after serving a five-year sentence for inciting and taking part in protests, his family and lawyer said. The terms of his release, however, require that he report to a police station every day for the next five years.
Alaa Abdel-Fattah rose to prominence with the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings that swept the Middle East and in Egypt, toppled long-time President Hosni Mubarak.
To many, his imprisonment three years later — at a time when authorities imposed draconian laws banning public gatherings and unauthorized demonstrations — was another sign of Egypt’s return to autocratic rule. (AP)
