The mother of jailed Egyptian-British activist and writer Alaa Abdel Fattah has expressed doubts over UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy ‘s ability to secure her son’s release during his visit to Cairo on Thursday, telling The New Arab that she remains unconvinced by the government’s efforts.
Abdel Fattah, 43, was a key figure in the 2011 revolt that toppled Egyptian autocrat Hosni Mubarak, and has been a vocal critic of Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
The rights activist, who obtained British citizenship in 2022 through his mother Laila Soueif, was due to be released in September after serving a five-year sentence for “spreading false news” but his family were told that he would not be freed until 2027.
Lammy, who said earlier this month that freeing Abdel Fattah was the ministry’s “number one issue”, brought up Abdel Fattah’s situation during talks with his Egyptian counterpart, Badr Abdel Aty, on Thursday, the Foreign Office told The New Arab.
“Our priority remains securing the release of Mr El-Fattah so that he can be reunited with his family. We continue to press on his case at the highest levels of the Egyptian government,” it said.
Soueif is pessimistic that her son will be released.
“Mr Lammy has been urged by everyone to bring Alaa back with him to the UK so he can be reunited with his son and the rest of his family,” she told The New Arab.
“We need actions and results, and I have not seen any results at all…I’m not getting my hopes up.”
Soueif, 68, has been on hunger strike for almost four months and has vowed not to eat until her son is released.
Her health is rapidly deteriorating and is unsure how much longer she can go on.
“Despite the foreign secretary’s reassurances that Alaa’s case is his “number one issue”, we have yet to see tangible progress,” Mina Thabet, head of the MENA region at PEN International, told The New Arab.
“Prolonged failure to end a British writer’s imprisonment for speaking against human rights abuses sends a worrying signal about the UK’s commitment to freedom of expression.”
PEN International, along with Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, was among 13 leading rights group who signed a letter to the foreign secretary urging the British government to do more to secure the activist’s release.
“You have publicly condemned Alaa Abdel Fattah’s imprisonment, characterising it as an affront to both Egyptian and international human rights stands,” they wrote in a public letter.
“We trust that you will stand by your statements and do your utmost to visit Alaa in prison and to return with him to the UK.”
