Alaa Abdel-Fattah’s sister fears the prime minister will simply “send words” because she fears her brother will die at the summit.
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Rishi Sunak has vowed to fight for the release of a British citizen who suffered a water attack on a criminal in Egypt, saying it is “a precedent for the British government” that he be released.
Sunak travels Sunday to the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh to attend COP27, his first overseas primary as prime minister.
There he said he would meet with the Egyptian president and raise the case of Alaa Abdel-Fattah, an Anglo-Egyptian software developer who human rights groups say is illegally detained for his activism.
Alaa Abdel-Fattah will have to avoid drinking water starting Sunday when the climate convention begins
Writing to Mr. Abdel-Fattah’s sisters over the weekend, Mr. Sunak said the family was going through “a very painful time” and said the government was “fully committed to solving [his] brother’s case. “
The father of a 40-year-old man has spent most of the past decade behind bars in Egypt and is recently serving his maximum sentence of five years for sharing a Facebook post criticizing criminal conditions.
He has been on partial hunger strike for six months, which he intensified last week to 0 calories a day.
On Sunday, at the opening of the UN weather summit, Abdel-Fattah also launched a water strike, raising fears he would die when world leaders, adding that the British prime minister was in the country to meet with his Egyptian counterparts.
Ministers and officials continue to press for consular pressure on Alaa and call for his release at the highest levels of the Egyptian government,” Mr. Sunak said in a letter to Mr. Abdel-Fattah, Sanaa Seif.
Abdel-Fattah’s sister, Sanaa Seif, fears for her brother’s life
Ms. Seif herself traveled to Egypt to attend COP27 and her brother’s case.
“I will continue to stress to President Sisi the importance we attach to the prompt resolution of Alaa’s case and an end to this unacceptable treatment,” the minister added.
“I would like to. . . assure them that the government is deeply committed to doing everything possible for Alaa’s case as soon as possible,” he said.
Abdel-Fattah gained notoriety abroad in 2011 as one of the most recognizable faces of the Arab Spring uprisings in Egypt.
However, he has spent most of the last ten years in detention for his activism and is most recently serving a five-year sentence for spreading fake news after sharing a critical message on Facebook.
Rishi Sunak would “raise the issue” with Egyptian authorities
His case sparked a worldwide outcry. Prominent figures Greta Thunberg, 15 Nobel laureates such as this year’s Nobel laureate in literature Annie Ernaux and celebrities such as Emma Thompson have called for her freedom.
Dozens of parliamentarians and comrades have also written to the government asking for urgent cadres for his freedom. His circle of family has warned that he will die next week if the British government does not intervene.
“Unless Rishi Sunak returns from COP27 with my brother alive, Alaa will not leave Egypt in a coffin,” Mona Seif, M’s sister, said Sunday morning. Abdel-Fattah on LBC radio.
Meanwhile, Sanaa Seif told Sky News she hoped MrSunak wouldn’t just “send words” and keep her promises.
“This will be the first and therefore it is a challenge, but I hope Prime Minister Rishi Sunak understands the urgency,” he said.
Seif organized a protest in front of the Foreign Ministry
Egypt has received strong complaints about its horrific rights record after President Abdel-Fattah Sisi, the country’s former army chief, took power in 2014 following the army’s overthrow of his predecessor.
Since then, rights teams have claimed that many protesters have been killed and tens of thousands arrested, and that the government has banned freedom of expression.
Egypt has denied committing human rights abuses in opposition to critics of the regime and says situations in its prisons meet foreign standards.
This week, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch warned that repression has worsened in the run-up to COP27.
Egypt arrested dozens of others for calling for protests ahead of the summit, while the government also limited the right to demonstrate.
“It is clear that the Egyptian government does not aim to relax its abusive security measures and allow freedom of expression and assembly,” said Adam Coogle, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch.
“The Egyptian government will not intensify its crackdown on human rights in the summit space,” he added.
Philip Luther, Amnesty’s MENA director, said at least 151 detainees are being investigated recently after being arrested ahead of the summit.
COP27 climate summit begins in Egypt
World leaders arriving in Sharm el-Sheikh should not be fooled by Egypt’s public relations campaign,” Luther added.
Abdel-Fattah said in a letter written last week that he would drink his last glass of water on Sunday.
In the letter, he added that he considered this resolution as “my struggle for my freedom and freedom from the troubled prisons in which they have no part. . . for the victims of a regime incapable of managing its crises other than through oppression. “
His case has been raised several times through British MPs.
Conservative MP David Jones, a supporter of the campaign, said this week he hoped the prime minister would “seize the opportunity to pressure Egyptians to hand Alaa over to his family. “
Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs David Lammy also called on the government to redouble its efforts to secure Abd el-Fattah’s release, saying: “This is now incredibly urgent. Alaa is a British citizen. “
“Rishi Sunak will have to use his stopover at Cop27 in Egypt to bring the Alaa house to his family. “
Alaa Abdel-Fattah will have to avoid drinking water starting Sunday when the climate convention begins
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Abdel-Fattah’s sister, Sanaa Seif, fears for her brother’s life
Independent television
Rishi Sunak would “raise the issue” with Egyptian authorities
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Seif organized a protest in front of the Foreign Ministry
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COP27 climate summit begins in Egypt
Egyptian COP27/AFP/Getty presidency
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