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yesterday

UN Declares Alaa Abd el-Fattah’s Detention Illegal, Urges Cairo to Free Him

His mother’s 241-day hunger strike in London highlights growing diplomatic strain following the panel’s verdict.

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A protester holds a picture of Alaa Abd-El Fattah, the British-Egyptian human rights activist who is imprisoned in Egypt

Overview

  • An independent UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ruled that Egypt is holding Alaa Abd el-Fattah without legal basis and demanded his immediate release and entitlement to compensation.
  • The panel cited the absence of a warrant, lack of trial transparency and politically driven charges for exercising free speech as grounds for deeming his detention illegal.
  • Abd el-Fattah completed his five-year sentence in September but has remained in a Cairo prison since his 2019 arrest for sharing a Facebook post.
  • His mother, Laila Soueif, has been on hunger strike for 241 days in protest, halving her body weight during daily vigils outside Downing Street.
  • UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and over 100 MPs have pressed President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi for clemency and are considering taking Egypt to the International Court of Justice.