Author: Leonor Rebassa
Last saved by: Nikita White
Company: Amnesty International

Further information on UA: 294/15 Index: MDE 12/5981/2017 Egypt	Date: 28 March 2017

URGENT ACTION
fifth and final activist in abdeen case released
Gamila Seryel-Dain, the last jailed activist from the group of five activists sentenced in the ‘Abdeen case’ to two years in prison for violating Egypt’s repressive 2013 protest law, was released on 14 March after receiving a presidential pardon. All five activists have now been released.
On 13 March Egypt’s President, Abdelfatah el-Sisi issued a presidential pardon for 203 prisoners including Gamila Seryel-Dain, the last jailed activist from the group of five activists in the ‘Abdeen case’ sentenced to two years in prison in December 2015. She was released from Qanater Women’s Prison the following day, on 14 March.
The other four activists- Mostafa Ibrahim Mohamed Ahmed, Karim Khaled Fathy, Mohamed Abdel-Hamid, and Ahmed Mohamed Said, were released on 18 November 2016, also by presidential pardon. Gamila Seryel-Dain however remained in prison.
The activists were convicted of violating Egypt’s repressive 2013 Protest Law, which arbitrarily restricts the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly guaranteed by international human rights law and Egypt’s Constitution. Defence lawyers said there is no physical evidence proving the charges. The only evidence is an investigation report by a single National Security officer, according to which the five had taken part in a protest at the intersection of two Cairo streets. A report by the Traffic Ministry confirms there were no complaints of a protest in that particular street on that day, the lawyers said.
Thank you to all those who sent appeals. No further action is requested from the UA network.
This is the fourth update of UA 294/15. Further information: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde12/5185/2016/en/ 

Name: Gamila Seryel-Dain
Gender m/f: f

Further information on UA: 294/15 Index: MDE 12/5981/2017 Issue Date: 28 March 2017