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Egypt Frees Seven People to Keep Opposition Critics Happy

The seven people included a journalist and researcher.

Egypt freed seven people, including a journalist, from prison on Saturday in a bid to make amends with its country’s opposition, the Associated Press reported. The prisoners, who were also pardoned, included journalist Hisham Fouad and anthropology researcher Ahmed Samir. Fouad was arrested in 2019 for allegedly helping plan out how certain opposition figures could run in the country’s 2020 elections, while Samir was detained in 2021 over accusations he disseminated false news. Samir was studying at the Central European University in Vienna, Austria, which worked to help get him released. “We worked behind the scenes with great patience and constant commitment toward this important result,” Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said in a statement.