A Cairo criminal court ordered on Wednesday the release of political activist Alaa Abdel-Fattah and human rights lawyer Mohamed El-Baqar, according to rights lawyer Gamal Eid and Abdel-Fattah's family. The prosecution has appealed the court order and a final decision is expected on Thursday, Eid and Alaa's sister, Mona Seif, said. Alaa Abdel-Fattah, a blogger and software engineer, was released in March 2019 after serving a five-year sentence for protesting without a permit in violation of a 2013 law. He was arrested again in September, along with El-Baqar, on the back of rare anti-government protests in Cairo and other cities.
