Alaa Abd el-Fattah: MPs and friends name for Egypt journey recommendation to be modified following ‘lack of progress’ over jailed activist

Campaigners are calling for the UK to vary its journey recommendation to Egypt, 18 months since a British man detained there was final in a position to see consular workers within the nation.

Alaa Abd el-Fattah, a twin UK-Egpyt citizen, has been below lock and key in North Africa for 9 of the previous 11 years.

He turned a outstanding pro-democracy activist in the course of the Tahrir Square demonstrations in Cairo in 2011 which led to the downfall of then president Hosni Mubarak.

He was sentenced to 5 years behind bars in December 2021 for sharing a Facebook submit about human rights abuses in Egyptian prisons in 2019.

Mr Abd el-Fattah went on a starvation strike final 12 months.

A letter signed by 100 MPs and friends shall be submitted to the UK Foreign Office calling on Foreign Secretary James Cleverly to take motion.

This consists of wanting the UK to steer a joint assertion on Egypt on the UN, and likewise altering the journey recommendation for British folks visiting the nation.

They need UK travellers – like US residents – to be instructed their nationality doesn’t shield them from being arrested, and that individuals “may be subjected to prolonged interrogations and extended detention”.

The US recommendation additionally notes “the Egyptian authorities do not automatically notify the US Embassy when a dual national is detained, or provide information about their alleged crime”.

Among those that signed the letter are senior Labour MPs Diane Abbott, Hilary Benn and Sir Chris Bryant, alongside senior Tories Sir Iain Duncan Smith and Sir Peter Bottomley.

The final British governor of Hong Kong, Lord Patten of Barnes, can be a signatory.

The letter says: “We are writing to express our concern at the lack of progress on the case of Alaa Abd el-Fattah, six months on from the prime minister’s meeting with President Sisi in Sharm el-Sheikh.

“As a outcome, we’re asking you to take the lead on a joint assertion on Egypt on the UN Human Rights Council, and to replace the UK’s journey recommendation for the nation.”

The letter adds that “non-public lobbying of the Egyptian authorities, even on the highest ranges, is but to ship outcomes” in relation to Mr Abd el-Fattah – therefore the calls for brand spanking new steps.

The letter shall be delivered to the Foreign Office at lunchtime on Monday, with an illustration additionally happening.