A group of UK Parliamentarians have written a joint letter to UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy on 15 December 2024, demanding the Egyptian government's release of British-Egyptian Alaa Abd El-Fattah. The letter also featured in an article in The Guardian.
15 December 2024
Dear Foreign Secretary,
We are writing to express our deep concern about the case of British-Egyptian writer Alaa Abd el-Fattah, following the refusal of the Egyptian government to release him when his sentence ended in September.
Alaa is an Amnesty International prisoner of conscience who has been imprisoned in Egypt for the past decade for his writings in support of democracy. His most recent five-year sentence, which ended on 29 September, was handed to him following a grossly unfair trial for the simple act of sharing a Facebook post about torture in prison in Egypt.
The Egyptian government refuses to acknowledge that Alaa’s two years spent in pre-trial detention awaiting his verdict count towards his time served, in violation of international and Egyptian law. They have stated that they do not plan to release him until January 2027, which would see a further two years and three months of Alaa’s life needlessly wasted. On 30 September, the day he should have been released, Alaa’s mother Laila Soueif began a hunger strike in protest against his continued imprisonment, saying that she would not eat again until he was released.
Through his ordeal, Alaa has been able to count on strong support in the outside world, from the editorial boards of the Times and the Guardian to 16 Nobel prize winners, and in our Parliament. We recall your important support to Alaa’s family when he was undergoing a hunger strike in 2022. We understand that Alaa himself felt hopeful after hearing you had been appointed as Foreign Secretary.
Foreign Secretary, Alaa’s case has been raised with the Egyptian President by four successive British Prime Ministers. Yet, our consular officials remain unable even to visit him in prison because the Egyptian government will not recognise his British nationality. We are deeply alarmed that any British citizen should be treated in this way, and we urge you to use the full range of diplomatic tools at your disposal to secure Alaa’s safe release, to allow him to finally be reunited with his 13 year-old son, Khaled, who lives in Brighton where he attends a special educational needs school.
We welcome that you have promised to prioritise the rights of detained British nationals in this Parliament. Securing the early release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah would be the strongest possible demonstration of the depth and force of this commitment.
Yours sincerely,
Rt Hon Diane Abbott MP
Shockat Adam MP
Baroness Ros Altmann CBE
Lord David Alton of Liverpool
Steff Aquarone MP
Órfhlaith Begley MP
Apsana Begum MP
Alison Bennett MP
Baroness Natalie Bennett of Manor Castle
Sian Berry MP
Kirsty Blackman MP
Rt Hon. Baroness Tessa Blackstone
Olivia Blake MP
Baroness Christine Blower
Alex Brewer MP
Baroness Sal Brinton
Jess Brown-Fuller MP
Richard Burgon MP
Ian Byrne MP
Charlotte Cane MP
Lord Alex Carlile of Berriew CBE KC
Rt Hon Alistair Carmichael MP
Wendy Chamberlain MP
Sarah Champion MP
Ellie Chowns MP
Lord Timothy Tim Clement-Jones CBE
Stella Creasy MP
Rt Hon Jeremy Corbyn MP
Pat Cullen MP
Adam Dance MP
Steve Darling MP
Marsha De Cordova MP
Carla Denyer MP
Rt Hon Baroness Frances D’Souza CMG
Rt Hon Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP
Colum Eastwood MP
John Finucane MP
Stephen Gethins MP
Rt Hon Lord Peter Hain of Neath
Monica Harding MP
Baroness Angela Harris of Richmond DL
Chris Hazzard MP
Baroness Anna Healy of Primrose Hill
Lord John Hendy KC
Wera Hobhouse MP
Dáire Hughes MP
Baroness Meral Hussein Ece
Baroness Barbara Janke
Christine Jardine MP
Kim Johnson MP
Clive Jones MP
Baroness Helena Kennedy of the Shaws KC
Afzal Khan MP
Ayoub Khan MP
Ben Lake MP
Chris Law MP
Graham Leadbitter MP
Brian Leishman MP
Clive Lewis MP
Baroness Ruth Lister of Burtersett
Seamus Logan MP
Rebecca Long Bailey MP
Andy McDonald MP
Rt Hon John McDonnell MP
Helen Maguire MP
Lord Mark McInnes of Kilwinning
Cathal Mallaghan MP
Rt Hon Kit Malthouse MP
Paul Maskey MP
Calum Miller MP
John Milne MP
Baroness Nosheena Mobarik
Abtisam Mohamed MP
Layla Moran MP
Tom Morrison MP
Rt Hon Baroness Lindsay Northover
Lord Jonathan Oates
Brendan O’Hara MP
Sarah Olney MP
Kate Osborne MP
Dr Al Pinkerton MP
Lord Jeremy Purvis
Adrian Ramsay MP
Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP
Tim Roca MP
Rt Hon Lord Jeff Rooker
Lord Simon Russell of Liverpool
Baroness Shas Sheehan
Vikki Slade MP
Andy Slaughter MP
Ian Sollom MP
Zarah Sultana MP
Rt Hon Sir Desmond Swayne MP
Jon Trickett MP
Rt Hon Valerie Vaz MP
Rt Hon Baroness Sayeeda Warsi
Baroness Janet Whitaker
Rt Hon Sir John Whittingdale MP
Nadia Whittome MP
Munira Wilson MP
Rt Hon Sammy Wilson MP
Pete Wishart MP
Steve Witherden MP
Caroline Voaden MP
Lord Stewart Wood of Anfield
Martin Wrigley MP
Kate Osamor MP
