Abdel Fattah was one of six political prisoners given pardon by the Egyptian president on Monday. The pardon given him comes only two days after Sanaa expressed disappointment at the failure of the authorities to speed up this release. Human rights lawyer Negad al-Borae said the pardon given to Alaa by the Egyptian president offers a ray of hope that other political prisoners would come next. The NCHR's petition sent the Egyptian president explicitly cited "critical family circumstances" for the recommended pardons. The pardon given him and other prisoners came only a short time after Egyptian authorities had pardoned other political prisoners.