High-profile Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah has been released, a day after President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi pardoned him and five other prisoners.

Abd el-Fattah, 43, has become Egypt's most prominent political prisoner after spending much of his adult life in and out of detention due to his activism, and a rare symbol of opposition to a far-reaching crackdown under Sisi. His lengthy imprisonment and repeated hunger strikes prompted widespread international pleas for his release.

"I can't even describe what I feel," his mother, Laila Soueif, said from her house in Giza as she stood next to her son surrounded by family and friends.

"We're happy, of course. But our greatest joy will come when there are no (political) prisoners in Egypt," she added.

Laila Soueif and Alaa's sist

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