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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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UNICEF: Gaza Fighting Pauses Agreed to Finish Polio Vaccinations

FILED - 01 September 2024, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: A child is vaccinated against the polio virus at the health center in Deir al-Balah. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
FILED - 01 September 2024, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: A child is vaccinated against the polio virus at the health center in Deir al-Balah. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
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UNICEF: Gaza Fighting Pauses Agreed to Finish Polio Vaccinations

FILED - 01 September 2024, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: A child is vaccinated against the polio virus at the health center in Deir al-Balah. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
FILED - 01 September 2024, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: A child is vaccinated against the polio virus at the health center in Deir al-Balah. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa

Humanitarian pauses in the war in the Gaza Strip have been agreed to allow a second round of polio vaccinations targeting 590,000 children under the age of 10 to start on Oct. 14, the head of the UN children's agency UNICEF said on Thursday.
"Area-specific humanitarian pauses have been agreed. It is critical that these pauses are respected by all parties. Without them, it is impossible to vaccinate the children," UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement.
The first round of the polio vaccination campaign, which began on Sept. 1, reached its target of 90% of children under 10 years of age, the United Nations has said. It was carried out in phases over two weeks during humanitarian pauses in the fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas.
The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed in August that a baby was partially paralyzed by the type 2 polio virus, the first such case in the territory in 25 years.
"UNICEF will include Vitamin A supplements to strengthen children's immune systems. Children in Gaza live in extremely dire hygiene and sanitation conditions," Reuters quoted Russell as saying.
"With the additional vaccine equipment and cold boxes that arrived yesterday, UNICEF is ready to deliver and vaccinate children to stop the transmission of polio," she said. "The success of the first round shows that when agreements are respected, we can get the job done."