Free Alaa Vigil at FCDO - 12 December 2022

Graham and John attended a vigil for Alaa Abdel Fattah on 12 December outside the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. It was led by Mona Seif (Alaa's elder sister) and intended to put pressure on James Cleverly for an effective response on Alaa's case. Alaa, a British citizen, has still not been given access to either the British consulate or lawyers. Cards were written to Alaa c/o James Cleverly for onward delivery.

The meeting was well attended, including representatives from Sky News and others. Bambos Charalambous, Shadow Minister for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs spoke in support of Alaa and Mona, referencing his parliamentary questioning and lack of progress made to date by the UK Government. Daniel Gorman, Director of English PEN, read from the collection of Alaa's essays 'You Have Not Yet Been Defeated' (https://fitzcarraldoeditions.com/books/you-have-not-yet-been-defeated-selected-works-2011-2021). Also present were Richard Ratcliffe and Caroline Lucas.  

Mona seemed buoyed by the evening. She spoke referring to Alaa's positive mental health and (slower) physical recovery, thanking those attending for their support and asking them to spread the word to apply more pressure.