PEN International calls for clemency for imprisoned writer Alaa Abdel-Fattah
5 March 2025: PEN International joins a coalition of human rights leaders, writers, and public figures in urging the Egyptian authorities to grant clemency to Egyptian-British writer Alaa Abdel-Fattah.
His Excellency Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
President of the Arab Republic of Egypt
Office of the President
Al Ittihadiya Palace
Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt
March 4, 2025
Dear President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi,
We, a group of leaders from human rights organizations, writers, and public media figures, appeal to you to grant clemency to Egyptian-British writer Alaa Abdel-Fattah, who has spent nearly a decade in prison and now faces two more years in detention—despite grounds in Egyptian law that would have led his family to expect his release, taking into consideration the time he spent in pre-trial detention.
In a profound act of desperation, his mother, Professor Laila Soueif—a respected 69-year-old Egyptian academic—has endured over 150 days of hunger strike to protect her son and safeguard her grandson’s future. Her health has now severely deteriorated, and she has been hospitalized. Doctors warn that she faces an "immediate risk of sudden death with continued fasting."
Mr. President, as the leader of all Egyptians, the power to end this suffering lies solely in your hands. Granting Alaa a presidential pardon under Article 155 of the Egyptian Constitution would reunite a mother with her son and signal a commitment to justice and compassion. At a time of regional instability, such an act of clemency would demonstrate the Egyptian leadership’s responsiveness to its own people's needs, serving as a sign of strength and mercy. This appeal comes not only from his family but also from Egyptian politicians, a broad coalition of Egyptian women, and the wider international community—urging a decision that upholds humanitarian values and the rule of law.
The world is watching, and history will not forget this act of humanity. As families across Egypt gather each evening in Ramadan to break their fast, one mother refuses to eat. With each passing day, her strength fades—her only prayer is to see her son free. A presidential pardon is not just justice; it is an act of humanity. Let history remember not a tragedy, but a reunion: Alaa free, holding his son, and Laila Soueif breaking her fast with the family she so longs to be with. This Ramadan, let them share a meal, like millions of Egyptian families, for the first time in years.
Respectfully,
Aatish Taseer – Writer
Ahdaf Soueif – Novelist
Ahmed Attalla – Director, Egyptian Front for Human Rights
Alec Soth – Photographer
Arundhati Roy – Author
Arwa Shobaki – Managing Director, Middle East Democracy Center
Asad Rehman – Executive Director, War on Want
Azar Nafisi – Writer and Professor
Basma Mostafa – Programs Manager, Law and Democracy Support Foundation
Brendan de Caires – Executive Director, PEN Canada
Chris Doyle – Director, Council for Arab-British Understanding (Caabu)
Daniel Gorman – Director, English PEN
Diana Moukalled – Co-Founder, Daraj Media
Eléonore Morel – CEO, International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
Elif Shafak – Novelist and Essayist
Gerald Staberock – Secretary General, World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
Grace Westcott – President, PEN Canada
Hossam Bahgat – Executive Director, Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR)
Inès Osman – Executive Director, MENA Rights Group
James Lynch – Co-Director, FairSquare
Jodie Ginsberg – Chief Executive Officer, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
Julie Trébault – Executive Director, Artists at Risk Connection (ARC)
Katie Fallon – Advocacy Manager and Director, Campaign Against Arms Trade
Karim Abdelrady – Executive Director, Law And Democracy Support Foundation
Khalid Abdalla – Actor
Khalid Ibrahim – Executive Director, Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)
Lama Fakih – Middle East and North Africa Director, Human Rights Watch
Liesl Gerntholtz – Director, PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Center, PEN America
Mai El-Sadany – Executive Director, The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP)
Mohamed Abdel Salam – Executive Director, Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE)
Mostafa Al-A’sar – Executive Director, REDWORD for Human Rights & Freedom of Expression
Mostafa Fouad – Executive Director, HuMENA for Human Rights and Civic Engagement
Narges Mohammadi – Human Rights Defender, Writer
Nasrin Sotoudeh – Human Rights Lawyer
Nour Khalil – Executive Director, Refugees Platform in Egypt (RPE)
Orhan Pamuk – Novelist and Screenwriter
Paul Kingsley Clark – Barrister & Head of International Team, Garden Court Chambers
Phil Klay – Writer
Professor Peter Greste – Executive Director, Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom
Quinn McKew – Executive Director, ARTICLE 19
Romana Cacchioli – Executive Director, PEN International
Rupert Skilbeck – Director, REDRESS
Salma El Hosseiny – Senior Program Manager, International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
Samar Elhussieny – Programs Director, Egyptian Human Rights Forum (EHRF)
Sarah Sheikh Ali – Regional Manager, Innovation for Change-MENA
Siri Hustvedt – Novelist and Essayist
Sir William Browder KCMG – Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign
Susan Hendrickson – President and CEO, Human Rights First
Terry Anderson – Executive Director, Cartoonists Rights Network International
Thibaut Bruttin – Director General, Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
Note to editors:
For more information, please contact Mina Thabet, Head of the MENA Region, email: [email protected]
For media queries, please contact Sabrina Tucci, PEN International Communications and Campaigns Manager, [email protected]