Cairo, Dec 22, (dpa/GNA) – Prominent Egyptian activist, Ahmed Douma, said he was barred from travel before boarding a flight to Beirut, two years after he was released from prison following a presidential pardon.
Douma, wrote in a post on X that officers detained him in an office at the airport on Sunday for three hours, before informing him that he was not allowed to travel. He said he was told to contact the public prosecutor’s office regarding a travel ban, adding that he had never been officially notified of any such decision.
Douma wrote, adding that he was only able to get a passport issued few days ago, following two years of “obstruction.”
In 2023, President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi issued a presidential pardon for several prisoners, including Douma.
He was sentenced in 2015 to life in prison, which was later reduced to 15 years, on charges of attacking security forces and damaging state buildings during violent protests several years earlier.
Douma is a prominent pro-democracy campaigner, who was a key figure in Egypt’s 2011 popular uprising that forced long-time president Hosny Mubarak to step down. He was detained several times under Mubarak and after his toppling.
GNA