The Guardian view on Egypt and Alaa Abd el-Fattah: Starmer and Lammy vowed to do all they can. So do it

Last month, Sir Keir Starmer promised to do 'everything I possibly can' to free Egypt's highest profile political prisoner, Alaa Abd el-Fattah. A few months earlier, the foreign secretary had described the case of the British-Egyptian writer and campaigner as the 'number one issue'. In opposition, David Lammy had joined a protest in Mr Abd el-Fattah's support outside the Foreign Office and demanded serious diplomatic consequences for Cairo if no progress was made.
Progress has not been made and time is running out. Arbitrary detention has stolen almost a decade of Mr Abd el-Fattah's life, while that of his remarkable mother, Laila Soueif, may be drawing to its close. As of Tuesday, the 69-year-old, who lives in London, had not eaten for 261 days, as she demands her son's release. After taking 300-calorie liquid supplements for a short period, she returned to a full hunger strike almost a month ago and has been hospitalised since the end of May. In Egypt, Mr Abd el-Fattah has been on hunger strike for more than 100 days.
Mr Abd el-Fattah, whose current ordeal began when he was detained in 2019, should never have been held. He was sentenced to five years for 'spreading false news'; his real offence was to speak truth to power. But the injustice was compounded when, instead of releasing him in September, as Egypt's own criminal code requires, the state chose to ignore his pre-trial detention. His jail term was deemed to have begun only after his conviction in December 2021, meaning that it would run until the end of next year.
The UN working group on arbitrary detention found last month that his detention was unlawful on multiple grounds, including the lack of arrest warrant, violation of his right to free expression and the lack of a fair trial. His 13-year-old son, who lives in Brighton, has been denied the chance to know his father.
In over a decade in office, Gen Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, Egypt's president, has proved to be even more repressive than his former boss, Hosni Mubarak, who was overthrown in the Arab spring. Executions have soared, and more than 1,500 political prisoners were detained last year alone. Sir Keir has twice raised Mr Abd el-Fattah's case directly in calls with Gen Sisi, and has written to him multiple times. Yet Britain has not even gained consular access to the 43-year-old. Egypt has released dual nationals before when under pressure. It appears particularly obdurate in this case.
Supporters have made a strong case for imposing sanctions and bringing a case at the international court of justice. Given the health of Mr Abd el-Fattah and Ms Soueif, however, the priority must be measures with immediate effect. The first should be to change travel advice, warning against travelling to Egypt, and to refuse trade talks. Mr Abd el-Fattah's case clearly indicates the risks for Britons, given the lack of fair process and consular access. Egypt's economy, which remains fragile following an International Monetary Fund bailout last year, is heavily dependent on tourism and around half a million Britons travel there every year.
The prime minister's advocacy is welcome. But as Mr Lammy demanded in 2022, 'what diplomatic price has Egypt paid for denying the right of consular access to a British citizen?' It is clear that Britain has not, in fact, done everything it possibly can to change the Egyptian government's mind. It must now do so.
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Leader Live

20 minutes ago

• Leader Live

Middle East situation ‘perilous', says Lammy amid calls for more talks

David Lammy flew from Washington to Geneva on Friday to meet Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi alongside his French and German counterparts as the UK continued to press for a diplomatic solution to the Middle East crisis. The talks followed US President Donald Trump's announcement that he would delay a decision on joining Israeli strikes against Iran for up to two weeks. Speaking after the meeting, Mr Lammy told reporters: 'It is still clear to me, as President Trump indicated yesterday, that there is a window of within two weeks where we can see a diplomatic solution.' Urging Iran to 'take that off ramp' and talk to the Americans, he said: 'We have a window of time. This is perilous and deadly serious.' He added that the US and Europe were pushing for Iran to agree to zero enrichment of uranium as a 'starting point' for negotiations. But Mr Araghchi said Iran would not negotiate with the US as long as Israel continued to carry out airstrikes against the country, and insisted his country's nuclear programme was entirely peaceful. Both sides continued to exchange fire on Friday, with Iranian missiles targeting the city of Haifa while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tel Aviv's military operation would continue 'for as long as it takes'. Meanwhile, the UK Government has announced it will use charter flights to evacuate Britons stranded in Israel once the country's airspace reopens. Mr Lammy said work is under way to provide the flights 'based on levels of demand' from UK citizens who want to leave the region. The move follows criticism of the Foreign Office's initial response, which saw family members of embassy staff evacuated while UK citizens were not advised to leave and told to follow local guidance. The Government said the move to withdraw temporarily family members had been a 'precautionary measure'. On Friday, the Foreign Office announced that UK staff had also been evacuated from Iran, with the embassy continuing to operate remotely. But the Government continues to advise British nationals in the region to follow local advice, rather than urging them to leave.

North Wales Chronicle

an hour ago

• North Wales Chronicle

Middle East situation ‘perilous', says Lammy amid calls for more talks

David Lammy flew from Washington to Geneva on Friday to meet Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi alongside his French and German counterparts as the UK continued to press for a diplomatic solution to the Middle East crisis. The talks followed US President Donald Trump's announcement that he would delay a decision on joining Israeli strikes against Iran for up to two weeks. Speaking after the meeting, Mr Lammy told reporters: 'It is still clear to me, as President Trump indicated yesterday, that there is a window of within two weeks where we can see a diplomatic solution.' Urging Iran to 'take that off ramp' and talk to the Americans, he said: 'We have a window of time. This is perilous and deadly serious.' He added that the US and Europe were pushing for Iran to agree to zero enrichment of uranium as a 'starting point' for negotiations. But Mr Araghchi said Iran would not negotiate with the US as long as Israel continued to carry out airstrikes against the country, and insisted his country's nuclear programme was entirely peaceful. Both sides continued to exchange fire on Friday, with Iranian missiles targeting the city of Haifa while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tel Aviv's military operation would continue 'for as long as it takes'. Meanwhile, the UK Government has announced it will use charter flights to evacuate Britons stranded in Israel once the country's airspace reopens. Mr Lammy said work is under way to provide the flights 'based on levels of demand' from UK citizens who want to leave the region. The move follows criticism of the Foreign Office's initial response, which saw family members of embassy staff evacuated while UK citizens were not advised to leave and told to follow local guidance. The Government said the move to withdraw temporarily family members had been a 'precautionary measure'. On Friday, the Foreign Office announced that UK staff had also been evacuated from Iran, with the embassy continuing to operate remotely. But the Government continues to advise British nationals in the region to follow local advice, rather than urging them to leave.

Reuters

an hour ago

• Reuters

Tunisia sentences ex-President Marzouki to 22 years in absentia

TUNIS, June 20 (Reuters) - A Tunisian court on Friday handed down a 22‑year prison sentence in absentia to former President Moncef Marzouki, a fierce critic of President Kais Saied, on charges of undermining state security, raising the opposition's fears of an escalating crackdown against critics. Marzouki, who was president from 2011 to 2014, accuses Saied of establishing an authoritarian regime after dismissing parliament and ruling by decree since he seized almost all powers in 2011. Saied defends his actions as necessary steps to stabilise Tunisia. This is the third ruling against Marzouki, after a court ruled last year to imprison him for eight years and four years before that in various other cases. Commenting on the ruling, Marzouki said from his exile in Paris: "I say to these judges: your rulings are invalid, and you are invalid ... you will be tried soon". "Democracy will return", he added. Earlier on Friday, another court sentenced Sahbi Atig, a senior official in Ennahda, the country's main opposition party, to 15 years in prison on charges of money laundering, his lawyer said. The 15-year sentence was shorter than some sentences handed down recently. In April, a court sentenced a string of opposition leaders, businessmen and lawyers to prison terms of up to 66 years, on conspiracy charges. Most of the leaders of political parties in Tunisia are in prison, including Abir Moussi, leader of the Free Constitutional Party, and Rached Ghannouchi, the head of Ennahda - two of Saied's most prominent opponents.