The family of Egyptian-British opponent Alaa Abdel Fattah, imprisoned in Egypt, accused the Egyptian authorities on Sunday of refusing to release him even though he has served his entire five-year sentence. Alaa Abdel Fattah, now 42 years old, was arrested at the end of 2019 and sentenced to five years of imprisonment for “false information” after sharing a text on Facebook, written by another, accusing an officer of torture.
A figure in the 2011 revolution that overthrew President Hosni Mubarak and the bête noire of current President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, he has been incarcerated several times since 2006. He became a British citizen from his cell in 2022.
His sister, Mona Seif, said in a video on the networks that the authorities had “rejected a request” to take into account his first two years in pre-trial detention, thus preventing his release this Sunday.
Appeal to the British government
The authorities calculated the duration of his imprisonment from the ratification of his judgment, added Mona Seif, postponing his release until December 2027.
On Thursday, his family called on the British government to act to secure his release. According to NGOs, tens of thousands of political prisoners are detained in Egypt, often in very difficult conditions.
