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Egypt: Sisi Pardons Several Prisoners including Ahmed Douma

Egyptian activist Ahmed Douma - Reuters
Egyptian activist Ahmed Douma - Reuters
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Egypt: Sisi Pardons Several Prisoners including Ahmed Douma

Egyptian activist Ahmed Douma - Reuters
Egyptian activist Ahmed Douma - Reuters

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has pardoned a number of prisoners, including Egyptian activist Ahmed Douma, the state TV said on Saturday.

Douma was sentenced in 2019 to 15 years in prison for rioting and attacking security forces.

In delivering his verdict at the time, the judge said Douma was part of a crowd that broke into parliament and damaged part of it.

Last month, authorities also freed Egyptian rights researcher Patrick Zaki and lawyer Mohamed el-Baqer after they were pardoned by al-Sisi.

Since late 2021 Egypt has taken a number of steps which it says are aimed at addressing human rights, including amnesties for some prominent prisoners.

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Israel Recommends UN Peacekeepers in Lebanon Relocate 5 Km North

The base of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in Ebel El Saqi Marjayoun District, southern Lebanon, 10 October 2024. EPA/STRINGER
The base of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in Ebel El Saqi Marjayoun District, southern Lebanon, 10 October 2024. EPA/STRINGER
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Israel Recommends UN Peacekeepers in Lebanon Relocate 5 Km North

The base of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in Ebel El Saqi Marjayoun District, southern Lebanon, 10 October 2024. EPA/STRINGER
The base of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in Ebel El Saqi Marjayoun District, southern Lebanon, 10 October 2024. EPA/STRINGER

Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon said Thursday Israel was focused on fighting Lebanon’s Hezbollah and recommends "UNIFIL relocate 5 km (3 miles) north to avoid danger as fighting intensifies.”

Reuters reported last week that the Israeli military had sent a message asking UN peacekeepers to prepare to move "as soon as possible, in order to maintain your safety.”

Danon added that "Israel has no desire to be in Lebanon, but it will do what is necessary" to drive Hezbollah away from its northern border so 70,000 displaced residents can return to their homes in northern Israel.

Israeli forces fired on positions used by the UN peacekeepers on Wednesday and Thursday, the UN force said, as Israel warned Lebanese civilians not to return to homes in the south and pursued a widening offensive against Hezbollah.

The UNIFIL force said two of its peacekeepers were injured in one of the incidents when an Israeli tank fired at a watchtower at the force's main headquarters in Ras al-Naqoura, hitting the tower and causing them to fall. There were no casualties in the other two incidents, a UN source said.

"Any deliberate attack on peacekeepers is a grave violation of international humanitarian law," UNIFIL said in a statement, adding that it was following up with the Israeli military.