The foreign secretary, James Cleverly, has been accused by MPs and peers of ignoring the case of jailed British-Egyptian hunger striker Alaa Abd El-Fattah.
He has also been accused of failing to engage with the activist’s sister, Sanaa Seif, who has camped outside the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office for 10 days in an effort to force the British government to act.
64 members of parliament and the Lords, including the Conservative MPs Sir Desmond Swayne and Crispin Blunt as well as Baroness Kennedy and the Duke of Norfolk, Britain’s most senior peer, signed a letter asking that Cleverly take action to save Abd El-Fattah in the days before Cop27 in Sharm el-Sheikh. The pro-democracy activist and writer has survived for more than six months on 100 calories a day in an Egyptian desert prison, and has said he will escalate his strike in November.
“We write now to ask for urgency. Alaa’s life is at serious risk,” they wrote. “Alaa’s situation is so grave that it requires a robust message. In that light, we strongly encourage you to make clear to your Egyptian counterparts that Britain’s engagement with Cop will be seriously undermined by the continued mistreatment of one of its citizens.”
Seif’s decision to begin a sit-in 10 days ago was spurred by what their family say was months of inaction by the FCDO regarding Abd el-Fattah’s case, even as his hunger strike reaches perilous levels in prison. While Liz Truss, as foreign secretary, told parliament this year that she would work to free Abd el-Fattah, those plans stalled with her leadership campaign.
In the months since, there has been little engagement with the case by her successor, and observers accuse the cabinet of being too distracted by the chaos engulfing the top of the Conservative party to lobby for Abd el-Fattah’s freedom, even as both governments cooperate on logistics for Cop27.
Seif said Abd El-Fattah had told their mother during a visit this week that he would begin a full hunger strike on 1 November. “Alaa is losing hope that the British government intends to do anything to save him,” she said.
“It’s unbearable to think that the current political chaos could cost him his life. With only a few days until Cop27 begins in Egypt, I ask the British politicians going to attend the conference: are you really prepared to let your citizen die on your watch?”
The coalition of MPs and peers implored Cleverly to use his office and the opportunity of Cop27 to bring Abd El-Fattah safely to the UK, calling it a potential diplomatic win for Britain and “a significant victory for democracy worldwide”.
“Cop27, just a few days away, will be a moment of intense public scrutiny on Egypt. Several important British climate groups have already expressed concern that the conference will be used to paper over human rights concerns in the country. We understand that the UK government has lent significant support to the Egyptians to deliver a complex logistical operation, and to secure the legacy of Cop26. We ask that you also ensure that the UK uses the opportunity to secure Alaa’s release,” they said.
Abd el-Fattah is a figurehead of Egypt’s 2011 revolution, who has spent most of the past decade behind bars. Since he became a British citizen while incarcerated last year, the Egyptian authorities have stonewalled British consular officials’ efforts to visit him in the Wadi al-Natrun desert prison, where he is being held, prompting him to begin a hunger strike in protest at his detention conditions.
David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, told the Guardian: “The chaos that has engulfed this government is undermining its ability to fulfil its first duty: keeping British citizens safe. Swapping ministers every few weeks means there is no time for them to grip issues, build diplomatic relationships or follow through on policies.”
An FCDO spokesperson said: “We are working hard to secure Alaa Abd el-Fattah’s release and we continue to raise his case at the highest levels of the Egyptian government. The foreign secretary most recently raised his case when he met Egyptian foreign minister [Sameh] Shoukry at the United Nations general assembly last month.”
