Alaa Abd El-Fattah, an award-winning British-Egyptian writer, software developer, prominent activist, and Honorary Member of English PEN, has endured years of arbitrary imprisonment on charges directly linked to his outspoken advocacy for human rights and free expression in Egypt. Known internationally for his writings and activism, El-Fattah has become an emblematic figure representing the struggle for human rights in the region, for which Egyptian authorities have repeatedly targeted him. He spent more than two-thirds of the last decade in arbitrary imprisonment solely for exercising his legitimate right to freedom of expression. Despite fully serving his latest unjust sentence by 29 September 2024, Egyptian authorities continue to arbitrarily imprison Abd El-Fattah, refusing to recognise his two-year pre-trial detention as a part of his sentence. 

His book, You Have Not Yet Been Defeated, which compiles some of his profoundly influential writings, has received widespread acclaim. He was named the 2024 Writer of Courage by PEN Pinter Prize 2024 winner, Arundhati Roy. He also won PEN Canada’s One Humanity Award in 2023, and the 2022 Electronic Frontier Foundation Award for Democratic Reform Advocacy.  

Since his imprisonment in September 2019, Abd El-Fattah has faced severe treatment in detention, including torture, denial of medical care, and restricted communication with his family. He has been subjected to prolonged solitary confinement and repeatedly deprived of essential necessities, including a mattress, clean clothing, books, and newspapers, which are routinely withheld without justification. His requests for medical devices, which are necessary to manage his health, including glucose monitors, have been denied, increasing the risk of hill health. To date, the Egyptian authorities have failed to adequately investigate Abd El-Fattah’s allegations of torture and ill-treatment despite a series of complaints filed by him and his family. 

Abd El-Fattah received a retaliatory five-year prison sentence in December 2021, after a grossly unfair trial before an Egyptian Emergency State Security Court, whose verdicts are not subject to appeal. This decision has drawn widespread condemnation from PEN International and other leading human rights organisations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, who view the sentence as politically motivated punishment for his peaceful activism.  

He began a hunger strike in April 2022, escalating this on 1 November 2022, to protest his arbitrary imprisonment and detention conditions. He spent more than six months on hunger strike, and concerns for his health and life were mounting for months.  

Despite sustained calls from his family and organisations worldwide, Egyptian authorities continue to obstruct his access to UK consular support, a right he is entitled to as a British citizen, raising further concerns over his wellbeing, and ignoring demands for his release. The UK's successive governments have also failed to secure his right to consular visits and his ultimate release despite enjoying strong economic and diplomatic ties with the Egyptian government. 

Abd El-Fattah’s case illustrates the Egyptian government’s broader crackdown on writers, human rights and political activists, and journalists, who are frequently detained under broad charges such as “spreading false news” and “threatening national security,” and face unfair trials. 

PEN International remains gravely concerned over Alaa Abd El-Fattah’s health and renews its calls on the Egyptian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release him. The organisation also calls on the UK Government to uphold its pledge and take all necessary actions to end Abd El-Fattah’s ordeal and ensure his freedom.