I am writing to you to bring to your attention the case of my friend and fellow free knowledge activist, the British-Egyptian Alaa Abd El-Fattah, currently wrongfully imprisoned in Egypt under trumped up charges. Alaa is on his second month of hunger strike and urgently needs UK consular support.
Alaa is a writer, an award-winning human rights blogger, a software developer, anda proponent of open knowledge. He is being targeted by the Egyptian regime for speaking up for democracy and freedom. He is father to a ten-year-old sona and an
Amnesty Prisoner of Conscience. He was sentenced in December 2021 to 5 years in prison for resharing a Facebook post about the deteriorating conditions in Egypt’s prisons.
Alaa has been subjected to torture and arbitrarily detained since September 2019. For two and a half years, he has been kept in a cell with no access to books, newspapers or sunlight. He is not allowed a wristwatch to tell the time of day, or exercise time outside his cell. His visits are limited to one family member per month, for twenty minutes, through a glass barrier, without a moment of privacy or physical contact.
Alaa is demanding his right to a visit from the British consulate, which is yet to be secured since it was first requested in December 2021.
He began an open-ended hunger strike on April 2nd and his family fear for his life.
The FCDO is fully aware of Alaa’s case, and his family have been liaising directly with the British embassy in Cairo. However, I am extremely concerned that things are not moving fast enough considering how
life-threatening his situation is and the lack of progress in improving the conditions of his detention.
I urge you to contact your MPs asking them to urgently write to Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and ask what steps are being taken to address Alaa’s wellbeing, ensure an immediate consular visit, and secure his release.
His family are also looking for MPs to table questions, submit EDMs and host events in Westminster to raise Alaa's case. Please contact freedomforalaa@gmail.com if you are able to help.