Alaa Abdel Fattah is free. Will it be a turning point for Egypt?

Alaa Abdel Fattah is free. Will it be a turning point for Egypt?

On 21 September, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi referred the country’s proposed amendments to the Criminal Procedure Law back to parliament, just months after lawmakers had passed them. A day later, he issued a presidential pardon for six detainees - among them the prominent activist Alaa Abdel Fattah. Two days after the announcement, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights welcomed Alaa’s release as a “positive development” but rejec…