Alaa Abdelfattah
Writer, Software Developer, Human Rights Defender, and Activist
Arrest: In September 2019, Alaa was re-arrested from the Dokki police station where he was forced to spend each evening as part of his five-year probation. His lawyer, Mohamed el-Baqer, was arrested later that same day
Violations: Deprivation of liberty
Case/cases info
- Charges: “joining an illegal organization,” “spreading false news,” “misusing social media,” and “receiving foreign funding” in Case 1356/2019.
- In December 2021, he was sentenced to five years in prison by Egypt’s Emergency State Security Court on charges of spreading false news in case 1228/2021 for sharing a Facebook post about the torture of another detainee. The two years of pretrial detention he served previously were not counted toward his sentence.
- Alaa has been on a hunger strike since April 2, 2022. On the first day of COP 27, he’ll have been on hunger strike for 218 days. Despite the clear toll it has taken on his health, authorities have denied that he has even undergone a hunger strike.
- Alaa has been a frequent target of the Egyptian regime, first arrested in 2006 while taking part in a peaceful protest and detained for several weeks. In October 2011, he was arrested again and jailed for several months. In 2013, Alaa was re-arrested for organizing a protest in violation of Egypt’s draconian Protest Law. He was held for over 100 days without trial before being temporarily released on bail in March 2014. In June of that year, he was handed a 15-year sentence, which was later reduced to five years.
- In April 2022, Alaa’s family announced he had been granted British citizenship through his mother, who was born in London. However, he has been repeatedly denied consular services and legal representation.
Detention conditions
While detained Alaa has faced significant abuse and mistreatment and was often singled out by prison authorities. He was transferred from Tora Maximum Security Prison to Wadi El Natroun Prison in May where he continues to be denied his basic rights.
Violations
Deprivation of Liberty, Torture, Medical Negligence, Unfair Trial, Poor Detention Conditions, Solitary Confinement, Denial of Access to Books, Denial of time outside his cell
Social media suggested post:
Ahead of #COP27 call on #Egypt to release British-Egyptian activist & software engineer Alaa Abdelfattah arbitrarily detained as a result of his tireless rights activism. @alaa is currently on a 200+ day hunger strike. | #FreeAlaa #FreeThemAllhttps://t.co/ZX040ucwaL pic.twitter.com/nBQ3kFzYse
— COP Civic Space (@copcivicspace) October 18, 2022
On the 200th day of his hunger strike, and ahead of #COP27, let's demand #Egypt to release British-Egyptian activist & software engineer Alaa Abdelfattah arbitrarily detained as a result of his tireless rights activism. #FreeAlaa #FreeThemAll @alaa https://t.co/ZX040ucwaL pic.twitter.com/29LsEkNQJ7
— COP Civic Space (@copcivicspace) October 18, 2022