Former presidential hopeful released from prison in Egypt

Egyptian opposition figure Ahmed al-Tantawi has been released from prison, according to his lawyer, after serving a one-year sentence on charges of breaching electoral regulations.

"Ahmed al-Tantawi was released," lawyer Khaled Ali wrote on X on Wednesday evening.

Al-Tantawi was seen as the only serious challenger to incumbent President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi in Egypt's 2023 presidential elections, but he was eliminated from the race after failing to collect required endorsements to run.

He accused the authorities and al-Sissi's loyalists of obstructing his supporters. Shortly after, he was charged along with other members of his campaign.

Al-Sissi first took office in 2014, one year after the army led by al-Sissi deposed Egypt's democratically elected but divisive Islamist president Mohammed Morsi.

Al-Sissi was re-elected in 2018, before securing his third term in office with nearly 90% of the vote in 2023, keeping him in power until at least 2030.

Egypt has seen a crackdown on freedom of expression, with hundreds of secular activists and Islamists imprisoned or forced into exile, which has triggered an outcry from human rights advocates.

According to political opponents, there have been no free elections since al-Sissi came to power, and all significant opposition has been suppressed.