Prominent Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abdel Fattah has spent 52 months arbitrarily detained simply for exercising his human rights. In December 2021, he was convicted on bogus charges including “spreading false news”, and sentenced to five years in prison, following a grossly unfair trial.
Release Alaa from detention now!
Alaa has been repeatedly arrested during the past decade including for his role in the 2011 uprising in Egypt. He has spent most of this time behind bars and has been subjected to a litany of human rights violations including prolonged detention, unfair trial, torture and other ill-treatment. His family is not allowed to visit him.
Alaa was held in inhumane conditions at the Tora Maximum Security 2 Prison in Cairo from September 2019 to May 2022. Prison authorities held him in a small, poorly ventilated cell and denied him a bed and mattress. He said he was beaten while handcuffed by the deputy prison warden and was later transferred to Wadi al-Natroun Prison after significant public pressure.
On 14 November 2023, Alaa’s family filed an urgent appeal with the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention over his continuing and unjust imprisonment. However, Egyptian authorities continue to deny him access to his lawyers and consular visits from UK officials.
Alaa must be immediately and unconditionally released from detention. Take Urgent Action now!