Authorities free 2011 revolution figure Maher

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January 5, 2017 9:58 AM

He was convicted alongside prominent activists Mohamed Adel and Ahmed Douma, who as of Thursday were still incarcerated.

Ahmed Maher was a founder and spokesman of the April 6 protest movement that was influential in the uprising that overthrew longtime Egyptian ruler Hosni Mubarak

Egypt has released political activist Ahmed Maher, a leading figure in the 2011 revolt that toppled the government, after he completed his jail term, his lawyer and a security source said Thursday.

Maher, 36, was a founder and spokesman of the April 6 protest movement that was influential in the uprising that overthrew longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak.

A security source told AFP that Maher was released from jail on Wednesday evening while his lawyer, Anas Sayed, said he will be under judicial supervision for three years.

Maher was arrested in November 2013 while protesting in Cairo against a law banning public gatherings not pre-authorised by the interior ministry.

Rights groups say President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's government has tried to repress all opposition since the former army chief overthrew his Islamist predecessor Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

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