Egyptian authorities ordered the release of 60 pretrial detainees in what is described by members of the Presidential Pardon Committee as the biggest release of pretrial detainees since its re-activation in April.
According to committee member and lawyer Tarek El-Awady, the authorities ordered the release of 23 pretrial detainees from Tora prison, 26 detainees from Abu-Zabel prison, eight detainees from El-Qanatir prison, one detainee from El-Minya prison and two detainees from the central prison.
El-Awady, in a series of posts on his official Facebook account, added that among the released pretrial detainees were 18 insurance company employees who were arrested after protesting their companies’ salary policies in 2020.
The prominent lawyer published a list of the names of the released detainees which he described the biggest since the re-activation of the committee.
According to other human rights lawyers, among the freed detainees were members of Zamalek Sports Club’s Ultras (hardcore fans group)
According to committee member Karim El-Sakka, 99 pretrial detainees have already been released in the past 10 days
The Presidential Pardon Committee is mandated to review the cases of those imprisoned for political crimes and others who meet certain conditions, such as families who have more than one relative in jail.
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