Activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to attend his father’s funeral

Taher Abul Nasr, Alaa Abd El Fattah’s lawyer, told Mada Masr that the Interior Ministry approved Alaa’s request to attend his father’s funeral, along with his sister Sanaa.

According to privately owned Youm 7, the funeral will take place following Asr prayers in Salah Eddin Mosque, Manial, the hospital in which Lawyer Ahmed Seif al-Islam, Alaa and Sanaa’s father, died.

Manal al-Teeby, member of the National Council for Human Rights, told Mada Masr that the ministry informed them that Alaa and Sanaa’s request had been approved and that they would also attend the funeral reception on Saturday.

Other sources told Mada Masr that Alaa is being prepped to attend the burial at Tunsy cemetery, but would not attend prayers at Salah Eddin Mosque at the request of his mother Laila Soueif, to avoid any problems during the funeral, as Alaa would be escorted by security forces. 

Renowned human rights lawyer Ahmed Seif al-Islam died on Wednesday after slipping into a coma following open-heart surgery earlier this month.

Seif leaves behind his wife — university professor and activist Laila Soueif — a son and two daughters, who have all followed his footsteps into political activism.

Tributes locally and internationally have been flooding social media, with many highlighting Seif's inspirational ability to transcend political divides and defend human rights in such difficult times.