Mother of activist jailed in Cairo calls on PM for help
THE mother of a British-egyptian activist imprisoned in Cairo has called on Boris Johnson to intervene as her son nears his 50th day on hunger strike.
Alaa Abd el-fattah, 40, began refusing food on April 2 in protest at conditions in the maximum security prison where he is held without reading matter, sunlight, exercise or consular visits.
A group of MPS headed by David Jones has called on Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, to secure consular access to Mr Abd el-fattah and insist that Egyptian authorities release him or improve his conditions.
Laila Soueif, Mr Abd el-fattah’s mother and a professor of mathematics at Cairo University, told The Daily Telegraph: “We have received very good support from the British Embassy but it’s clear that my son’s life now lies in Boris Johnson and Liz Truss’s hands.
“I fear for his life ... but I still have no doubt that a serious intervention from the Government would save my son’s life.”
Mr Abd el-fattah – blogger and software developer who was a leading figure in the 2011 Arab Spring revolt that toppled Hosni Mubarak – has spent more than eight years over the past decade in prison for his activism.
He was detained under successive presidents Mohammed Morsi and Abdel Fattah el-sisi.
After being held in pre-trial detention in Cairo’s Tora prison since September 2019, Mr Abd el-fattah was sentenced to five years last December for broadcasting false news after he shared a Facebook
‘It will not be to anyone’s advantage if the life of a prominent, secular, prodemocracy figure were lost’
post on human rights abuses in Egyptian prisons. He obtained UK citizenship the same month.
The letter, which was signed by 25 MPS and Peers, said: “If this situation continues, we are concerned a dangerous precedent will be set for British citizens overseas and the values we uphold. In turn, his case must be dealt with robustly.
“It will not be to anyone’s advantage if the life of a prominent, secular, prodemocracy figure were to be lost.”