RSF calls on Egypt to release Alaa Abdel Fattah immediately
Egypt must free Alaa Abdel Fattah without further delay. More than 150 days after the British-Egyptian blogger completed his jail sentence, and as his mother lies close to death in a London hospital, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the Egyptian authorities to release him immediately.
Abdel Fattah has been arbitrarily detained in Egypt for more than a decade. His latest sentence - received for sharing a post on Facebook - ended on 29 September, but the Egyptian authorities have still not released him, refusing to recognise time spent in pre-trial detention. His mother, mathematics professor Laila Soueif, has been on hunger strike ever since in a desperate bid to secure his freedom. After almost six months without food, her doctors have made clear she could die at any moment, but she has said she will not give in until there is concrete progress towards her son’s release.
“Egypt must free Alaa Abdel Fattah immediately. His mother’s life depends upon it, and his 13-year-old son needs him home. It has been encouraging in recent days to see the UK intensifying its efforts to make progress on the case, but the reality is that this family is already on borrowed time. What is urgently needed now is a global push for justice for Alaa. Now is the time to act: Egypt’s disregard for the rule of law and human rights must not be allowed to go on.
UN human rights experts have also called for Abdel Fattah’s immediate release. In a joint statement on 27 February, they recognised the unlawful nature of his detention and called on Egypt to “halt its flagrant crackdown on freedom of expression and respect its obligations under international human rights law”.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised to do all he can to secure Alaa’s release, but has yet to deliver any concrete results. Soueif, also a British citizen, has been on hunger strike for more than 150 days, and has lost around 35% of her body weight. She was admitted to St Thomas’ hospital on 24 February, after her blood sugar dropped to a dangerous level.
Egypt ranks 170 out of 180 countries in the RSF 2024 World Press Freedom Index due to the frequency of censorship, police raids, arrests, shutdowns, sham trials, enforced disappearances and arbitrary detentions. There are currently 20 journalists imprisoned in Egypt, including Abdel Fattah.
