Amnesty International called on the Egyptian government to “immediately and unconditionally” release political activist and programmer Alaa Abdel Fattah, who holds British citizenship.
The call came as British writer and Labour peer Helena Kennedy urged the UK government to escalate its response against Egypt and consider international legal action over Cairo’s failure to respond to calls for Alaa’s release.
In a statement issued late Tuesday, Amnesty International warned that Alaa's 69-year-old mother, academic Laila Soueif, is “feared to be near death after a long hunger strike.”
“She is risking her life for her son's freedom. Despite completing an unjust 5-year prison sentence after a grossly unfair trial, Egyptian authorities continue to arbitrarily detain Alaa Abdel Fattah. He must be immediately and unconditionally released,” the statement added.
On Monday, The Guardian published an opinion piece by Kennedy titled “Must Laila Soueif die from her hunger strike in London before her son Alaa Abd el-Fattah is released?” urging the UK government to act swiftly to save Soueif’s life and ensure Abdel-Fattah’s freedom.
Alaa obtained British citizenship in 2021 through his mother, who was born in London in 1956 while her mother was on an academic assignment.
In her article, Kennedy called on the UK to “ramp up the pressure on Egypt to release Abd el-Fattah,” noting that “Keir Starmer has rightly raised his case with the Egyptian president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, but we know this Egyptian government will not respond to words alone: the last three prime ministers also tried discussing the case without success.”
Kennedy is working on Alaa's case as part of a new all-party parliamentary group campaigning for British nationals who are arbitrarily detained. “I find the lack of respect shown by Egypt for the UK’s rights in relation to a British citizen alarming,” she wrote.
She added that she recently submitted evidence to the foreign affairs committee inquiry noting that the UK has taken no action, including sanctions, against the Egyptian authorities responsible for Alaa’s continued detention beyond his five-year sentence. “That position should be urgently reviewed,” she wrote.
In March, the UK parliamentary group held hearings on three prominent cases involving British citizens arbitrarily detained abroad: Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong, Ryan Cornelius in the UAE, and Alaa Abdel Fattah in Egypt.
The hearings highlighted deficiencies in the UK’s sanctions strategy concerning human rights violations, particularly the detention of British citizens overseas. “The arbitrary detention alone should be sufficient to designate sanctions,” the group said.
The committee later issued written recommendations mentioning Alaa’s case, stating that the UK has “still not taken any action, including sanctions, against any Egyptian authorities responsible for Abd El-Fattah’s continued detention, even after he has completed his 5-year sentence.”
However, the committee clarified that its written evidence “is not an official publication of the House of Commons or the House of Lords. It has not been approved by either House or its committees.”
Kennedy joined former UK Ambassador to Egypt John Casson, former Foreign Secretary Peter Hain, and activist Richard Ratcliffe this week in calling on the government to amend its travel advisory for Egypt to “caution against travel to Egypt.”
“In light of what we have learned from Abd el-Fattah’s case,” Kennedy wrote, “the British government must make clear that a UK citizen who falls foul of the police state in Egypt cannot expect fair process or normal support from the British government.”
She added that hundreds of thousands of UK citizens travel to Egypt each year, making a major contribution to the country’s economy, noting that the British government cannot guarantee their rights.
“The Egyptian government will undoubtedly take notice if its failure to abide by the rule of law starts affecting hotel bookings for the winter season,” she wrote.
Kennedy also urged the UK government to hold off any new trade or investment cooperation with Egypt until Alaa is released, arguing that “the British government should not be signing trade deals with countries that are arbitrarily detaining our citizens.”
She called for the suspension of any plans for Egypt-UK investment conferences or financial support until Alaa is freed.
Kennedy described Soueif as “one of the most determined people I know,” adding that “that’s why she is in grave danger.” She appealed directly to the UK prime minister, saying, “She could still survive, but it will depend on the UK government taking strong action.”
According to her, Laila's hunger strike is fuelled by her deep frustration with the failure of both the Egyptian and British governments to secure her son’s release.
In her conclusion, Kennedy recommended that the UK government consider taking Egypt to the ICJ over its continued refusal to allow consular access to Alaa, which she argued constitutes a clear violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
“France has recently taken this step in relation to two of its nationals held in Iran,” she noted.
Despite having completed his five-year sentence for a Facebook post about the torture of a prisoner, Alaa remains detained, while UK authorities have been unable to visit him or apply real pressure to secure his freedom.
The UK government said Tuesday it was “deeply concerned” about Laila's health, with a spokesperson for the prime minister saying it continues to urge the Egyptian authorities to release Alaa.
“We are deeply concerned by Laila's hospitalisation and remain in regular contact with her family regarding her welfare,” Starmer's spokesman told reporters.
Egypt’s embassy in London did not respond to Reuters' request for comment.
Starmer's spokesman said the British foreign secretary David Lammy spoke to his Egyptian counterpart on Sunday and urged him to release Alaa.
“The government is absolutely committed to Alaa Abdel Fattah's release,” he said. “Further engagement at the highest levels of the Egyptian government continues.”
Meanwhile, 41 Tunisian human rights organizations called on the Egyptian authorities to release Alaa, arguing that his continued detention “despite international calls for his release, including the UN, reflects restrictions on freedom of expression and civil society space in Egypt."
On Tuesday, a group of Egyptian feminist organizations and activists issued a statement urging President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to “act urgently and respond to Soueif’s legitimate demands. Dr. Soueif’s life is at risk, and our silence means leaving her to face death alone.”
Additionally, a number of students at Mansoura University submitted a letter to the university president asking him to contact the relevant authorities to help save Laila's life and secure Alaa’s release.
Laila began a full hunger strike the day after Alaa's prison term expired. Following promises of a resolution after several appeals and requests for his release, she shifted to a partial hunger strike in March, consuming just 300 calories a day.
Laila recently resumed her full hunger strike after the government failed to meet her demands, leading to a serious decline in her health and her admission to hospital.
Alaa remains in legal limbo due to the state’s refusal to credit more than two years of pretrial detention toward his prison sentence. Although arrested in September 2019, authorities count his term from January 2022, leaving him imprisoned despite having served his time, according to his lawyer Khaled Ali.
Under Article 482 of Egypt’s Code of Criminal Procedure, the duration of a prison sentence begins “on the day the convicted person is arrested pursuant to the enforceable judgment,” with the pretrial detention period deducted from the sentence. Article 484 of the same law states that “pretrial detention time shall be deducted first from the lighter sentence.”
