The 21 Kefaya detainees were finally released around 6:30pm today, after police agents at El-Dhaher Station stalled the process.

The detainees should have been released in the early morning, but the station's agents kept delaying, saying they were "waiting for orders from State Security," according to rights lawyers who were trying to process the activists' release. At some point, the police wanted to delay the release by deciding to transfer two Upper Egyptian detainees back to their hometowns' police stations. To our good fortunes, that did not happen, thanks to the lobbying of the present lawyers. A number of activists also assembled in front of the station, staging a sit-in to add to the pressure.

The detainees on their part went on a hunger strike protesting their continued imprisonment, and only ended it with their release.

I spoke with socialist activist and friend Khaled Abdel Hamid around 6:50pm. He was very cheerful, and said the police did not dare messing with them in custody because of the outside attention the rights activists, bloggers and the media were giving to them.

Alf Mabrouk ya shabab!

UPDATE: Here's a report by Alexandra Sandels in the Daily Star Egypt...