Alaa Abd El Fattah arbitrarily detained, UN experts say, requesting immediate release

The imprisonment of writer and activist Alaa Abd El Fattah is arbitrary and illegal, a United Nations expert panel has ruled. 

In a press release published Wednesday the group called on Egypt to carry out its obligation to “release him immediately under international law.”

Commenting on the ruling, Director of Reporters Without Borders Fiona O’Brien said that the ruling should “bring his suffering and that of his family to an end,” calling for Egypt to release Abd El Fattah and allow him to return to his family in the United Kingdom.

Abd El Fattah has spent most of the past decade in prison on political charges. He continues to be detained by authorities in Egypt despite completing in September the sentence issued against him in 2021. 

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) argued that no warrant or explanation was present at the time of Abd El Fattah’s arrest and that he was imprisoned for exercising his freedom of expression — a legal right in Egypt.

Abd El Fattah was arrested in September 2019 after he republished an activist’s post about the death of a prisoner under torture in the notorious Aqrab Prison. He was then detained pending investigations into the offenses of joining a terrorist group and spreading false news, which are often deployed against government critics. 

The statement also cited the lack of a fair trial and the “discriminatory nature of the detention based on his political views.” 

During his 2021 trial at an emergency state security misdemeanors court, Abd El Fattah was denied the right to appeal the sentence, which was handed down only after three trial sessions. His defense lawyers were also prevented from access to the case files or an opportunity to present a defense.

He was ultimately referred to trial on false news charges and sentenced with an additional five years. 

In the Wednesday press release, UNWGAD also requested that the Egyptian government “remedy the situation” by releasing the writer and activist and granting him “an enforceable right to compensation” among other forms of recompense under international law.

The assessment of the five independent UN experts adds to the voices which have pushed for his release. Abd El Fattah’s family have escalated their calls for his release since September, which marked the passage of five years that he spent in detention. His mother, academic and activist Laila Soueif, is currently on a full hunger strike in protest of his continued detention. Her health condition has deteriorated rapidly over the 241 days of her strike. 

Abd El Fattah also began a full hunger strike in prison on March 1.

Soueif, whose family including her son hold British and Egyptian nationality, has also held daily demonstrations outside the British government headquarters, urging them to intervene with Egyptian authorities to secure her son’s release.

Commenting on UNGWAD’s ruling that Abd El Fattah’s detention is unlawful, the activist’s cousin, author Omar Robert Hamilton, said in a Wednesday press release that, “We are calling on the British government to take Egypt to the International Court of Justice for breach of the Vienna Convention.” 

In a call with Sisi last week, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pressed for Abdel El Fattah’s “urgent release” so that he can be reunited with his family. Starmer also highlighted the importance of bringing an end to the “anguish Alaa and his family have faced.” He has also confirmed, in response to a parliamentary question, what he had previously said to Soueif — that he is committed to doing everything in his power to push for Abd El Fattah’s release.

On their side, Abd El Fattah’s family submitted a presidential pardon request and two legal petitions to the public prosecutor in Egypt earlier this month, as Soueif’s health continues to decline.

Abd El Fattah’s defense lawyer, Khaled Ali, has previously stated that prosecutors should have released Abd El Fattah at the conclusion of his five-year sentence in 2024 — as the two years he spent in remand detention should count toward the total. Prosecutors have declined legal attempts to sue for his release, however, meaning that his imprisonment is likely to extend until January 2026. 

Amnesty International has expressed fears that authorities will then resort to other tactics to extend his imprisonment further. 

In her demand for the UN ruling to be used for British and Egyptian officials to facilitate Abd El Fattah’s release, O’Brien expressed the urgency of ending his arbitrary detention for both him and his family. “They cannot afford to wait any longer,” she said.