His mum,Laila,went on a hunger strike to get him home (Picture: Getty)

British-Egyptian pro-democracy activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah has been released from prison after more than a decade,following a presidential pardon.

His detention,which began with his 2014 arrest for taking part in an unauthorised protest,became a symbol of Egypt’s shrinking democratic freedoms after the Arab Spring.

He spent much of the last 10 years in Wadi Natrun Prison,with only a brief release in 2019 before being detained again in a wider security crackdown.

On Monday,President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi pardoned him along with five others,after the National Council for Human Rights urged clemency.

The release led to emotional scenes in Cairo as Alaa was reunited with his family. His mother,Laila Soueif,was pictured hugging her son in tears,while his sister Mona wrote: ‘An exceptionally kind day. Alaa is free.’

Experts have said they hope his release is a ‘watershed’ moment (Picture: Reuters)

Human rights campaigner Bill Browder told Metro: ‘It’s a huge relief that Alaa Abd El-Fattah has been released.

‘He was a hostage of the Egyptian government who should have never spent a day in jail. He and his family can now heal and recover from this terrible nightmare.’

Amr Magdi,a senior researcher in the Middle East and North Africa at Human Rights Watch,said that while he was celebrating Alaa’s pardon,thousands of others remain behind bars due to their public views.

He hopes this could act as a watershed moment for the government to end the wrongful detention of thousands of peaceful critics.

The National Council for Human Rights said it welcomed the pardon,describing it as underscoring ‘a growing commitment to reinforcing the principles of swift justice and upholding fundamental rights and freedoms’.

He’s been reunited with his family after more than a decade (Picture: Getty Images)

Australian journalist Peter Greste and Laila Soueif went on hunger strike for Alaa’s release (Picture: Reuters)

Alaa obtained citizenship through his UK-born mother to help secure his freedom and take him in.

When Egypt failed to release Mr Abd El-Fattah last September,his mother,Soueif,began her own hunger strike in Britain,but became seriously ill and ended the strike in July.

Alaa hails from a family of political activists,lawyers and writers. His late father was one of Egypt’s most tireless rights lawyers,his sisters – British citizens as well – are also political activists,and his aunt is the award-winning novelist Ahdaf Soueif.

It was not immediately known if the activist would leave Egypt,but Alaa’s lawyer said that he has a desire to keep his Egyptian citizenship and live in Egypt.