The Egyptian authorities have freed blogger and activist Alaa Abdel el-Fattah; he was arrested at the end of October on charges of inciting violence and vandalism. The charges against the blogger have not been dropped.

His sister Mona Abdel Fattah announced on Twitter that a court had decided to "free Alaa," who had been remanded in custody on 30 October.

The blogger was accused of vandalism and inciting violence during a 9 October demonstration by Coptic Christians in Cairo. The protest turned violent and demonstrators clashes with security forces; 27 people were killed, most of them Copts protesting over the burning of a church in the southern city of Aswan.
The activist reportedly refused to be questioned by the military prosecution on the grounds that the military itself was implicated in the case.

Coptic witnesses said they were fired upon by soldiers during a protest march and that several people were killed when armoured vehicles ran over and crushed them.

The army denies charges of having used excessive force and says three of its soldiers were shot dead, but it has also been criticised for putting civilians on trial in military courts.

Alaa el-Fattah’s arrest led to protests in many parts of the world and spurred-on the anti-Mubarak protestors in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.

El-Fattah’s first child was born while he was in detention.