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Alaa Abd el-Fattah Arrives in UK After Egypt Lifts Travel Ban

His arrival reflects a presidential pardon secured after years of family advocacy.

Overview

  • Family statements and Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed the British-Egyptian activist landed in London on December 26.
  • He flew out after Egyptian authorities lifted a travel ban on December 20, and he is set to reunite with his 14-year-old son in Brighton.
  • President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi granted a pardon in September following nearly a decade of detentions that made Abd el-Fattah a symbol of Egypt’s crackdown on dissent.
  • Starmer welcomed the return, thanked Sisi for the pardon, and highlighted that the case was a government priority, while Egypt had previously refused UK consular access.
  • The family says an arrangement should allow travel between Cairo and London, as rights groups stress that many critics of the Egyptian government remain imprisoned.