UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer made a public commitment on February 14 to Laila Soueif, the mother of Alaa Abd El Fattah, stating “I will do all that I can to secure the release of her son Alaa Abd el-Fattah and reunite him with his family.” While that commitment was welcomed by the family, it is imperative that it now be followed up with concrete action.
Laila has called on PM Starmer to speak directly to President Sisi of Egypt. Starmer has written to Sisi twice, in December and January, and his National Security Adviser, Jonathan Powell, discussed Alaa with Egyptian authorities in Cairo on January 2. UK authorities have not made public any further contact with Egypt since.
“all she wants is for [Alaa] to be free now that he served the full five year sentence, and after they stole 11 years of his and [his son] Khaled’s life.”
Laila, who has been on hunger strike since Alaa’s intended release date in September, was hospitalized on Monday night after her blood sugar dropped to worrying new levels. A letter published today from her NHS doctor states that there is now immediate risk to her life including further deterioration or death. Nevertheless, Laila remains steadfast in her commitment to refrain from eating until her son is freed.
In the words of Alaa’s sister Mona Seif: “all she wants is for [Alaa] to be free now that he served the full five year sentence, and after they stole 11 years of his and [his son] Khaled’s life.”
Alaa is a British citizen, and as such his government owes him more than mere lip service. The UK government can and must use every tactic available to them, including:
- Changing travel advice on the Foreign Office’s website to reflect the fact that citizens arrested in Egypt cannot be guaranteed consular access
- Convening a joint meeting of ministers and officials of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office; Ministry of Defence; and Department of Business and Trade to discuss a unified strategy toward Alaa’s case
- Summoning the Egyptian ambassador in London and restricting his access to Whitehall if Alaa is not released and returned to the UK
- Announcing a moratorium on any governmental assistance or promotion of new Foreign Direct Investments into Egypt, as called for by 15 NGOs in November.
EFF once again calls on Prime Minister Starmer to pick up the phone and call Egyptian President Sisi to free Alaa and save Laila—before it’s too late.
