Two prominent Egyptian rights figures released from prison following pardons

By JACK JEFFERY and SAMY MAGDY
Associated Press

CAIRO (AP) — Families and a rights defender say two prominent figures from Egypt’s human rights community have been released from prison. The releases of Patrick George Zaki, an activist and postgraduate student in Italy, and Mohamed el-Baker, a human rights lawyer, come a day after they were pardoned by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi. Egypt has pardoned dozens of detainees in recent months after its human rights record came under international scrutiny. Zaki had been sentenced to three years in prison earlier this week over an opinion article he wrote in 2019. El-baker had been charged with disseminating false news, misuse of social media and joining a terrorist group.