UK government must urgently intervene to save British-Egyptian writer Alaa Abd El-Fattah

Photo: Courtesy of Nariman El-Mofty

11 November: PEN International is appalled to learn that the Egyptian authorities have subjected imprisoned British-Egyptian writer and prominent blogger Alaa Abd El-Fattah to a “medical intervention” without his family's consent. PEN International is gravely concerned for Abd El-Fattah’s health and demands that he be transferred to a hospital of his family’s choice, and granted immediate access to family, lawyer, and consular visits.

The UK’s failure to secure Alaa Abd El-Fattah’s release following Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's meeting with the Egyptian President in Sharm el-Sheikh is deeply disappointing. The UK government’s inability to secure urgent consular access for over a year is unacceptable. PEN International calls on the UK Prime Minister to intervene urgently in order to ensure that Alaa Abd El-Fattah is not subjected to any arbitrary medical interventions, to arrange his transfer to a hospital of his family’s choosing, and to secure immediate access to his family, lawyer, and consular visits pending his release.

On 10 November, prison authorities notified Alaa Abd El- Fattah’s mother, Laila Soueif, that he was subjected to a “medical intervention” without providing further details. Soueif has been going to the prison on a daily basis since 6 November to obtain a letter from her son and receive updates on his condition. However, authorities claimed that Alaa Abd El-Fattah had refused to write to his family without any explanation. Moreover, prison authorities prevented Khaled Ali, Alaa Abd El-Fattah’s lawyer, from visiting him despite being granted the necessary permission. The Egyptian Public Prosecutor issued a statement claiming Alaa Abd El-Fattah’s health condition and vital signs are normal, questioning his hunger strike. PEN International remains gravely concerned that he might be subjected to arbitrary or inadequate medical intervention.

Despite extensive calls from PEN International, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Nobel laureates, climate justice organisations, and world leaders to release Alaa Abd El-Fattah, the Egyptian authorities refuse to free him or even grant access to consular and lawyer visits.

“We are deeply concerned about Alaa Abd El-Fattah’s health condition. We are afraid that he might be subjected to inadequate medical intervention without his consent while authorities are keeping him in total isolation. Egypt’s impunity over human rights abuses must end now; world leaders, including Rishi Sunak, should be stronger in their commitment to freedom of expression and take urgent action to secure Alaa’s immediate release,” said Burhan Sönmez, president of PEN International

Background

Alaa Abd El-Fattah is a British-Egyptian citizen, an award-winning writer and software developer, and an Honorary Member of English PEN. He is currently serving a five-year prison sentence in Egypt following a grossly unfair trial before The Emergency State Security Court. The sentence, handed down in December 2021, has been widely condemned by leading international human rights organisations, including PEN International, Amnesty International, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and Human Rights Watch.

According to his family, Alaa Abd El-Fattah has been subjected to torture and ill-treatment on multiple occasions since his imprisonment. 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 since September 2019. For over two years, he was denied access to basic necessities, including a mattress, bed sheets, books, and newspapers.

On 2 April 2022, Alaa Abd El-Fattah began a hunger strike to protest his arbitrary imprisonment and detention conditions. He has been on hunger strike for more than seven months, and concerns for his health and well-being are mounting daily.

For more information, please contact Mina Thabet, MENA Regional Coordinator, at PEN International, Koops Mill Mews, Unit A, 162-164 Abbey St, London, SE1 2AN, Tel.+ 44 (0) 20 7405 0338, email: Mina.Thabet@pen-international.org