Statements

The Progressive International stands with Alaa Abdel Fattah

Members of the Progressive International Council stand in solidarity with Egyptian/British writer, software developer and human rights activist Alaa Abdel Fattah.
Alaa is an Egyptian/British writer, software developer and human rights activist who is now on hunger strike in a maximum security Egyptian prison.
Alaa is an Egyptian/British writer, software developer and human rights activist who is now on hunger strike in a maximum security Egyptian prison.

He is serving a five year sentence for sharing a Facebook post about rights violations in prison. Since September 2019 he has been denied books, writing materials, exercise and sunshine.

The British government has repeatedly requested Consular access to him with no success. Driven to the point of total exhaustion, Alaa began a hunger strike on April 2nd 2022 in an effort to secure consular access from the British Embassy, and for more humane conditions in prison.

Alaa has been persecuted by the regime of Abdelfattah al-Sisi for his consistent, principled, secular and pro-democratic positions. He has been imprisoned in Egypt for eight of the nine years since General el-Sisi came to power.

For eight years Alaa’s family and friends have led an international campaign to #FreeAlaa. In that time, Amnesty International, the Committee to Protect Journalists, English PEN and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have all campaigned for his release. Amnesty International identify Alaa as a prisoner of conscience. He was recently named an honorary citizen by the City of Paris.

In October of last year, a collection of his writings, interviews and social media posts was published by Fitzcarraldo Editions. It was translated and edited by family and friends, and has been glowingly reviewed.

At this critical moment, when Alaa is into the 44th day of a hunger strike, Progressive International calls on the government of Egypt to release him and on the British government to make every effort to persuade its Egyptian ally that no good will come of continuing to hold Alaa in inhumane and illegal conditions. 

Signed by:

  • Julian Aguon
  • Lina Attalah
  • Renata Avila
  • Walden Bello
  • Nikhil Dey
  • Jean Dreze
  • Ammar Ali Jan
  • Srećko Horvat
  • Wang Hui
  • Hasina Khan
  • Ertugrul Kürkcü
  • Scott Ludlam
  • Harsh Mander
  • Kavita Naidu
  • Trusha Reddy
  • Aruna Roy
  • Yanis Varoufakis
  • Eyal Weizman
Available in
English
Date
18.05.2022
Source
Original article
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