Alaa Abdel Fattah, a pro-democracy militant, was a key figure in the popular uprising that led to the fall of Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak during the Arab Revolt demonstrations in 2011. Fattah, who was sentenced to five years in prison for “spreading false information”, went on a hunger strike more than 200 days ago and is trying to bring her case to the attention of the world during the COP27 Climate Summit.

Fattah, who is on hunger strike, has been eating only milk tea and a spoonful of honey a day since April 2, according to her family. This Sunday (6), when the Climate Summit in Egypt began, the militant risked his own life by stopping all feeding.

Fattah, an opponent of the Egyptian government, has been in prison since 2019 and has been sentenced to five years in prison for “spreading false information”. He and his family condemned the international community for a political arrest to silence this democracy activist.

opposition leadership

Alaa Abdel Fattah, 40, is Egypt’s best-known prisoner. A trained programmer, this political activist was one of the symbols of the 2011 uprising in Egypt that ended the Hosni Mubarak government.

Since then, the activist has continued to use her voice to call for democracy and oppose the country’s rulers, resulting in her being arrested several times.

Between 2014-2019, Fattah was arrested for participating in a demonstration. Released from custody, the activist enjoyed his freedom for only six months when he was re-arrested after tweeting about the suspicious death of a prisoner.

In 2020, his name was added to the Egyptian government’s terror list, and in December he was sentenced to five years in prison for “spreading false information”.

At the time, her mother, Laila Soueif, denounced the unfair conditions of the process. This is not a judicial decision, it is a political decision, ”she said. According to the family, Fattah’s lawyers were denied access to the indictment prior to the trial.

Faced with this, Fattah decided to start a hunger strike in April.

Political arrest complaint

Fattah has held British citizenship since April, which allows UK authorities to negotiate her freedom. However, the only improvement in seven months was the improvement of the conditions of his prison.

In May, the prisoner was transferred to a prison with a medical center a few hundred meters from Cairo to reduce the likelihood of death for the famous political prisoner. And, according to his family, he now had a bed to sleep on.

The complete interruption of their diet is now an attempt to use the spotlight to fight for their freedom during the Climate Summit in Egypt.

On Saturday (5), Fattah’s family received a message of support from the new British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. “The UK’s participation in COP27 is a new opportunity to discuss your brother’s case with the Egyptian authorities. We are fully committed to solving this case,” said the British Prime Minister.

Sunak said Alaa Abdel Fattah “is a priority for the British government as both a human rights activist and a British citizen”.

The Fattah case is just one of what Amnesty International has dubbed a “Human Rights Crisis” in the country that has been ruled by Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi since 2014. The NGO estimates that there are around 60,000 political prisoners in Egypt.