Family of jailed British-Egyptian activist lead vigil to demand his release
Alaa Abd El-Fattah’s sister Mona Seif said that her family had been ‘let down’ by world leaders, particularly Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
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Your support makes all the difference.The family of imprisoned British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah have led a vigil in London to call for Government action to demand his freedom.
Mr Abd El-Fattah is currently serving a five-year sentence in Egypt on charges of disseminating false news for retweeting a report in 2019 that another prisoner had died in custody.
At the Amnesty International UK vigil in front of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development office in Westminster on Monday, his mother Laila Soueif said he “just wants to get out of jail and take care of his son”.
Ms Soueif and her daughter Mona Seif delivered a letter signed by more than 100 MPs and lords to Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, calling for more action to help free the pro-democracy activist.
They called on the UK Government to lead on a joint statement about Egypt at the Human Rights Council and to change the travel advice for British nationals heading to Egypt.
They should make it very clear to British nationals about how unstable things are in Egypt
Speaking to the PA news agency, Ms Seif said her family has been “let down” by world leaders, particularly Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
“Since Rishi Sunak met with President Sisi during Cop27 nothing much has happened, and it has been very disappointing,” she said.
“He went and raised Alaa’s case, but he was there at a critical point when Alaa’s health was in a dire situation, and we didn’t have enough information about him.
“He couldn’t even get us a proof of life and he couldn’t get a promise of a consulate visit.”
She said the family has now been able to visit the 40-year-old writer in Egypt and have found him in a better condition.
He previously carried out hunger strikes which intensified during the Cop27 summit in Sharm el-Sheikh in November 2022, where Mr Sunak raised his case with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
“Things have improved over the past year… he has been removed from the maximum-security prison,” she said.
“He’s OK, he has access to books, he has monthly visits from the family, and he gets to listen to music.
“But other than that, he is still denied consulate access, he still is denied access to lawyers.
“Psychologically, he’s in a much better state, because during our visits over the past month after he completely collapsed after the hunger strike, we managed to actually talk to him about the extent of the campaign and solidarity he’s getting all over the world.
“And I think it resonated with him and managed to make him feel much more supported and helped him to be in a better state.”
Ms Seif added: “They should make it very clear to British nationals about how unstable things are in Egypt, the reality of the situation, and how it’s very easy to get into weird situations that end up sending you to prison.
“The UK must prioritise human rights, the rule of law, and the wellbeing of their citizens over the trade deals and meaningless diplomatic relations they have with a military dictatorship.”