Prominent Egyptian activist released on bail

The blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah, who is facing a retrial on a 15-year prison sentence for violating a draconian protest law, was released on a $714 (Dh2,600) bond.

CAIRO // Egypt’s most prominent activist, who is facing a retrial on a 15-year prison sentence for violating a draconian protest law, was granted release on bail on Monday, lawyers and relatives said.

His release came after dozens of activists began a hunger strike last month to protest against the curbs on public demonstrations and the detention of activists, including some of the leading figures in the 2011 uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak’s nearly three-decade rule.

The lawyer representing blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah, a vocal government critic for more than a decade who has been repeatedly jailed, said he was released on $714 (Dh2,600) bail along with two other activists. Attorney Mohammed Abdel Aziz said the three should leave prison on Tuesday once their paperwork is completed.

He added that the judge presiding over the retrial has stepped down at the request of defence lawyers. “The judge said in his reasons for stepping down that it was prompted by a show of disrespect to the court,” Mr Abdel Aziz said. The retrial will begin once a new judge is assigned to the case.

* Associated Press