Prominent Egypt activist free after completing her sentence

CAIRO — A salient Egyptian quality rights activistic was released Thursday aft serving her condemnation connected charges of spreading mendacious quality and insulting a constabulary officer, her lawyer and household said.

Sanaa Seif, who hails from a renowned household of activists, had been down bars since June 2020. She was convicted successful March 2021 of broadcasting what authorities said were fake quality and rumors astir wellness conditions and the dispersed of the coronavirus successful Egyptian prisons.

Mona Seif, her sister and besides a salient quality rights advocate, posted photographs of Sanaa connected societal media showing her smiling and walking with friends upon her release.

The improvement comes aft an Egyptian tribunal connected Monday sentenced the Seif sisters’ brother, Alaa Abdel-Fattah, to 5 years connected charges of spreading mendacious news.

Abdel-Fattah was archetypal sentenced successful 2014 connected charges of taking portion successful an unauthorized protestation and allegedly assaulting a constabulary officer. He was released successful 2019 aft serving a five-year word but was rearrested again aboriginal that year, successful a crackdown that followed anti-government protests.

Sanaa Seif was arrested portion she and different household members were astatine the nationalist prosecutor’s bureau to record a ailment astir an onslaught against them extracurricular Cairo’s Tora situation complex. The household had been going regular to the prison, hoping to person a missive from imprisoned Abdel-Fattah.

In a abstracted lawsuit successful 2016, Seif was convicted of insulting a authorities worker and was sentenced to six months. After that, she served 15 months of a three-year condemnation for demonstrating against a instrumentality banning nationalist gatherings. She was pardoned aboriginal successful that case.

The siblings’ father, Ahmed Seif al-Islam, was a renowned quality rights lawyer who died successful 2014. Their mother, Leila Soueif, is simply a mathematician and a salient advocator for world independence. Their aunt is Ahdaf Soueif, an award-winning novelist.