#FreeAlaa campaign
The life of human rights defender Alaa Abdel-Fattah is at serious risk: urge Egypt to release him immediately!
UPDATE: On 20 July 2023, Mohamed El-Baqer finally went home after nearly 4 years of arbitrary detention. He was pardoned by the Egyptian President on 19 July. Here’s a photo of El-Baqer reunited with his wife, and a copy of the Presidential Pardon here (in Arabic).
UPDATE: On 15 November 2022, Alaa Abd el-Fattah’s mother has received a letter from him from inside Wadi al-Natrun prison announcing that Alaa has broken his hunger strike. In the letter, Alaa indicated that he will be able to see her on visitation day, this Thursday 17 November, and asked her to bring a cake, as he would like to celebrate his birthday with her and with his cellmates. He’ll be able to explain everything when he sees her, he wrote.
Pressure should remain to release him immediately, along with Mohamed el-Baqer and Mohamed “Oxygen” Ibrahim Radwan and all those arrested and detained solely for exercising their rights #FreeThemAll. Here is what you can do:
We just received a letter from @alaa, dated yesterday, telling us he ended his hunger strike and he will explain everything in our family visit on Thursday. I feel both relieved and apprehensive, Thursday can't come soon enough .. keep him in your thoughts & prayers #FreeAlaa pic.twitter.com/RmSX2QpFRM
— Mona Seif (@Monasosh) November 15, 2022
UPDATE: On 14 November Alaa’s family received a proof of life and was informed that Alaa has resumed drinking water as of 12 November. For latest updates, follow @FreedomforAlaa on twitter.
Proof of Life after *14 days* of Alaa being held incommunicado by the Egyptian regime: 14 days of psychological torture for his family. This needs to end NOW with consular access for the British Embassy and his immediate release. #FreeAlaa #FreeThemAll https://t.co/e5bhDn6sS5
— Free Alaa (@FreedomForAlaa) November 14, 2022
Alaa Abdel-Fattah is a British-Egyptian writer, human rights defender and software developer. He was one of the leading voices and campaigners during the 25 January 2011 revolution. He has been published in numerous outlets; is well-known for founding a prominent Arabic blog aggregator; and has been involved in a number of citizen journalism initiatives. His book, You Have Not Yet Been Defeated, which compiles some of his deeply influential writings, has received widespread acclaim.
Alaa has been arrested under every Egyptian head of state during his lifetime. He is currently in detention following an unfair trial on spurious charges that relate to his human rights advocacy. On 2 April 2022, Alaa embarked on an open-ended hunger strike as a last bid for freedom. After more than 200 days of partial hunger strike, Alaa announced that, as of 1 November 2022, he is stopping his previous 100-calorie intake and moving to a full hunger strike. Alaa also decided that on 6 November 2022, coinciding with the beginning of COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, he will start a water strike. This means that if he is not released, Alaa will die before the end of COP27.
“If one wished for death then a hunger strike would not be a struggle. If one were only holding onto life out of instinct then what’s the point of a strike? If you’re postponing death only out of shame at your mother’s tears then you’re decreasing the chances of victory….I’ve taken a decision to escalate at a time I see as fitting for my struggle for my freedom and the freedom of prisoners of a conflict they’ve no part in, or they’re trying to exit from; for the victims of a regime that’s unable to handle its crises except with oppression, unable to reproduce itself except through incarceration.”Alaa, in a letter to his family announcing escalation of his hunger strike.
Over 100 organisations and groups urgently call on:
Your solidarity is urgently needed. Here are three quick and impactful actions you can take right now:
Thank you for expressing your support to Alaa and his family.
As #COP27 takes place in #Egypt, we are wearing white to show solidarity with Egypt’s tens of thousands of political prisoners.
Egyptian activists should be part of the conversation about our planet’s future, not rotting in jail!#FreeThemALL pic.twitter.com/k1k6QE5yXz— ISHR (@ISHRglobal) November 10, 2022
ISHR joins dozens of organisations calling on Egypt to immediately release HRDs Alaa Abdel-Fattah, Mohamed el-Baqer and Mohamed “Oxygen” Ibrahim Radwan and all those arrested and detained solely for exercising their rights.
Powerful ideas of protest and freedom of expression from the world-reknown Egyptian political prisoner and activist.
