Enlarge image
Photo:
Yves Herman / REUTERS
A student at the Vienna-based Central European University (CEU) has been released from Egyptian custody.
Along with six other prisoners, anthropology student Ahmed Samir Santawy was pardoned by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Egyptian media reports.
Pictures have been posted on social media showing Santawy being welcomed by friends and supporters after his release from the notorious high-security Tora prison in Egypt's capital, Cairo.
"Santawy is finally free, I'm very relieved!" Wrote Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) on Twitter.
This is what Schallenberger advocated during his last visit to Cairo in July.
CEU reactor Shalini Randeria was also very happy about Santawy's release.
"Now that his ordeal ends after 18 months in appalling prison conditions and in violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we breathe a sigh of relief," Randeria said in a statement.
Randeria thanked Santawy's partner, family and friends, as well as fellow students, teachers and everyone else who had stood up for his detainee over the past few months as part of the #FreeAhmedSamir movement.
arrest on home visit
As part of his master's degree, Santawy is researching, among other things, women's and abortion rights in Egypt.
In February 2021, during a home visit, he was questioned after his arrival at Sharm el-Sheikh airport and arrested after a police summons.
For days, Santawy was thought to have disappeared and, according to his own statements, was beaten by security forces during this time.
In June 2021, Santawy was sentenced to four years in prison by the Cairo Emergency State Security Court for allegedly spreading false news on social media.
The verdict was overturned in early 2022.
The date for a retrial was postponed several times while Santawy remained in custody.
Most recently, his prison term was reduced to three years in early July.
In addition to Santawy, the well-known journalist Hisham Fouad was pardoned and released.
In recent months, several prominent Egyptian activists, media workers and human rights activists have been released from prison after President el-Sisi announced a national dialogue with the opposition.
Others, like activist and blogger Alaa Abd el-Fattah, who is on hunger strike, remain behind bars.
As host, Egypt is trying to improve its image before the UN climate conference COP27 takes place in Sharm el-Sheikh in November this year.
atb/AP