Amnesty International UK - Update on Alaa Abd el-Fattah

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak raised Alaa’s case during his visit to Egypt for COP27, however, the UK government have failed to act with sufficient urgency on this case for months and have so far failed to secure any further progress on this case. The family had requested a clear plan from the government on what they are doing to secure Alaa’s release for a long time but were never offered any information. The family’s requests to meet with the Foreign Secretary were also ignored until Alaa’s sister took part in a sit-in outside of the FCDO for 16 days before the meeting was finally agreed. Alaa’s release must remain a priority for the government.

The Prime Minister should continue to insist on UK consular access to Alaa to check on his perilous condition and to ascertain what independent medical care he needs. The Government must also conduct an urgent human rights impact assessment of its trade, security and other dealings with Egypt in light of the appalling mistreatment of Alaa and other human rights violations to ensure that no further harm is caused by existing UK-Egyptian agreements. With COP27 over, it’s more important than ever that Egypt’s cruel treatment of Alaa is robustly challenged and that he’s spared any further suffering.