The British national has been held in arbitrary detention since 2019 

His mother ended an eight-month-long hunger strike earlier this year after the UK government assured her that they would do everything they could to secure his release 

‘Keir Starmer personally promised Alaa’s family that he’d secure his release, and there’s not a moment to waste in keeping this promise’ - Eilidh Macpherson 

Responding to news that Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, who has been arbitrarily detained in Egypt since September 2019, has begun a hunger strike, Eilidh Macpherson, Campaigns Manager for Individuals at Risk at Amnesty International UK, said: 

“It is truly devastating news that Alaa Abdel Fattah is taking this step. His situation is desperate and yet his release feels further away today than ever.  

“Keir Starmer personally promised Alaa’s family that he’d secure his release, and there’s not a moment to waste in keeping this promise.  

“Alaa is a brave voice for democracy in Egypt and shouldn’t have spent a single day in prison.  

“Successive UK governments have failed to support UK nationals arbitrarily held abroad. The announcement of Alaa’s hunger strike shows just how urgent it is that the Government prioritises securing his release.”  

A family’s ordeal 

Alaa Abdel Fattah is a prominent blogger and writer who has been held in arbitrary detention in Egypt since September 2019.  

He has already served a five-year jail sentence on trumped-up charges of “spreading false news” after a grossly unfair trial, yet last year his family were told he wouldn’t be released until January 2027. 

Alaa’s mother, Laila Soueif, was hospitalised earlier this year after an eight-month-long hunger strike in protest of her son's imprisonment. 

Soueif, 68, lost 30kg during the hunger strike and was admitted to St. Thomas' hospital after her blood sugar and blood pressure dropped to dangerously low levels. 

The mathematics professor only ended the strike after she was given assurances that the UK government was doing all it could to free her son.