Joint letter sent to the Prime Minister re Alaa Abd el-Fattah
-
Dear Prime Minister,
We are writing about the case of Alaa Abd el-Fattah, the British-Egyptian political prisoner who should have been released at the end of his prison sentence in September 2024, and who has now been on hunger strike for more than 80 days. We are requesting an urgent update on progress, given the serious risks both to his health and that of his mother Laila Soueif, who has been on hunger strike in support of him since September 2024.
We welcomed your assurance to the House on 26 February that you would do everything you could to ensure Alaa’s release, and your recognition that this was an “incredibly difficult situation” for his family. We were pleased to see that on 28 February, you pressed President Sisi for Alaa’s release and agreed to speak to him again soon, and that on 2 March the National Security Adviser spoke to the Egyptian Foreign Minister about Alaa’s case.
We were relieved that following these developments, Laila Soueif agreed to ease her hunger strike somewhat by accepting 300 calories per day, in recognition of these hopeful signs of progress, and was discharged from St Thomas’ hospital.
However, we write with mounting concern about the lack of concrete progress on Alaa’s case, more than two months after your call with President Sisi. Time is in desperately short supply in this case. Alaa has been acutely unwell in prison, experiencing vomiting, stomach pains, dizziness and blurred vision. Meanwhile, Laila’s health continues to deteriorate. She has not eaten proper food for more than seven months.
Prime Minister, we remain gravely concerned about the implications for Alaa’s family if the path to resolve his case and secure his release cannot be found very soon. There is also no doubt in our minds that if the health of Laila or Alaa is further damaged by this ordeal, this would have serious long-term implications for the British-Egyptian bilateral relationship. We urge you to deploy every tool at your government’s disposal at this vital stage.
We offer our support to your efforts on behalf of Alaa and his family in any way needed.
Brendan O'Hara MP, Interim Chair of the APPG
Tim Roca MP, Vice-Chair of the APPG
Baroness Helena Kennedy LT KC, Vice-Chair of the APPG
Diane Abbott MP
Shockat Adam MP
Baroness Altmann
Lord Alton of Liverpool
Órfhlaith Begley MP
Apsana Begum MP
Alison Bennett MP
Baroness Bennett
Sian Berry MP
Baroness Blackstone
Olivia Blake MP
Baroness Blower
Baroness Brinton
Jess Brown-Fuller MP
Richard Burgon MP
Ian Byrne MP
Baroness Chakrabati
Wendy Chamberlain MP
Danny Chambers MP
Ellie Chowns MP
Jeremy Corbyn MP
Stella Creasy MP
Pat Cullen MP
The Rt Hon David Davis
Marsha de Cordova MP
Carla Denyer MP
Lord Dholakia
Baroness D'Souza
The Rt Hon Sir Iain
Duncan Smith MP
Neil Duncan-Jordan MP
Colum Eastwood MP
John Finucane MP
Mary Kelly Foy MP
Andrew George MP
Rachel Gilmour MP
Olly Glover MP
Marie Goldman MP
Sarah Green MP
Lord Peter Hain
The Lord Hannay of
Chiswick GCMG CH
Monica Harding MP
Chris Hazzard MP
Baroness Healy of
Primrose Hill
Lord Hendy
Chris Hinchcliff MP
Dayre Hughes MP
Baroness Angela Harris
Baroness Janke
Liz Jarvis MP
Christine Jardine MP
Kim Johnson MP
Clive Jones MP
Ben Lake MP
Ian Lavery MP
Brian Leishman MP
Baroness Lister
Rebecca Long-Bailey MP
Baroness Ludford
Douglas Macallister MP
Brian Mathew MP
Ben Maguire MP
Cathal Mallaghan MP
Blair McDougall MP
John McDonnell MP
Andy McDonald MP
John Milne MP
Calum Miller MP
Layla Moran MP
Graeme Morris MP
The Rt Hon Lord
McNally
Lord McInnes of
Kilwinning
Edward Morello MP
Paul Maskey MP
Baroness Northover
Sarah Olney MP
Kate Osamor MP
Kate Osborne MP
Dr. Simon Opher MP
Adrian Ramsay MP
Martin Rhodes MP
Lord Rooker
Anna Sabine MP
Lord Prem Sikka
Vikki Slade MP
The Rt Hon Sir Desmond
Swayne MP
Nadia Whittome MP
Sir John Whittingdale MP
Baroness Whitaker
Paul Kohler MP
Chris Law MP
Bell Ribeiro Addy MP
Freddie van Mierlo MP
Caroline Voaden MP
Zarah Sultana MP
The Rt Hon Valerie Vaz
MP
Steve Witherden MP
Munira Wilson MP
Claire Young MP
