Egypt's president has pardoned rights researcher Patrick Zaki after an Egyptian court had sentenced him to three years in prison for "spreading false information" in a government-critical article in 2020.
On Wednesday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi pardoned detained rights researcher Patrick Zaki, one day after a court sentenced him to three years in prison for "spreading false news," according to lawyers and state media.
Sisi's decision followed outcry over Zaki's sentence by Italian government and the US State Department, along with local and international human rights groups.
The Egyptian president on Wednesday also pardoned Mohamed El-Baqer, a lawyer for detained activist Alaa Abdel Fattah who was arrested in 2019 at his client's interrogation.