Egyptian authorities on Monday announced the presidential pardon of prominent activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah, according to his lawyer Khaled Ali and an announcement by Egypt’s state TV

Prominent Egyptian activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah stands in a cage during a verdict hearing for 21 people over an unauthorized street protest in 2013, in a courtroom in Cairo, Egypt, on Feb. 23, 2015. (AP Photo)

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian authorities on Monday announced the presidential pardon of prominent activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah, according to his lawyer Khaled Ali and an announcement by Egypt’s state TV. Abd el-Fattah, who has been in prison for six years, is a top activist and was a leading voice in the country’s 2011 Arab Spring uprising who went on hunger strikes behind bars and whose ordeal became emblematic of Egypt’s democratic backsliding.

State media reported that the president also pardoned another five prisoners. It was not immediately clear when they will walk free.