The UK's brief arrest of Ahmed Abdel Qader, a pro-government Egyptian activist who heads the Union of Egyptian Youth Abroad, has reportedly created a diplomatic incident between the UK and Egypt, amid continuing protests outside Egyptian embassies around the world.
Abdel Qader was reportedly detained on Monday evening outside the Egyptian embassy in London, after allegedly confronting pro-Gaza protesters.
It came amid a wave of protests outside Egyptian missions abroad, calling on Egypt, which borders the Gaza Strip, to do more to end Israel’s starvation siege of the devastated territory.
Egyptian diplomatic staff and supporters of the Sisi government have responded with violence, dragging protesters inside the Egyptian mission to the UN in New York last week and beating them.
After Abdel Qader was arrested, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty called UK National Security Advisor Jonathan Powell and asked him to explain the circumstances of Abdel Qader’s arrest, according to the New Arab’s Arabic language edition and Egyptian media.
Abdel Qader was reportedly released by UK police shortly afterwards, according to the Egyptian news magazine Egypt Today. Egyptian pro-government media portrayed Abdel Qader as a "national hero", praising what they described as a decisive intervention by the Egyptian state to secure his release.
Badr Abdelatty was previously heard in a leaked recording instructing Egyptian ambassadors to deal "forcefully" with Egyptian opposition supporters protesting outside embassies.
Egyptian opposition activists have pointed out what they called the "double standard" in Abdelatty’s intervention in Abdel Qader’s case, saying that the Egyptian government rarely intervenes in cases when its citizens are detained abroad.
Several members of the Egyptian community in London have described Abdel Qader as a “close ally” of the embassy, pointing out that he has previously led gatherings in support of the Egyptian government at European events, as well as counter-protests against Egyptian opposition demonstrations.
Egyptian opposition journalist Basma Mostafa claimed that Abdel Qader had assaulted her in Berlin while she was protesting against Sisi’s visit to Germany in July 2022.
As well as the assaults outside Egyptian embassies, foreign activists trying to reach Gaza via Egypt to deliver humanitarian aid to the devastated territory were attacked earlier this year by pro-government Baltagiya thugs.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi came to power after overthrowing the country's first democratically elected leader, Muslim Brotherhood member Mohammed Morsi, in a 2013 coup.
Since then, tens of thousands of opposition activists and dissidents have been arrested in Egypt, with many suffering torture and mistreatment in prison.