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Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah says he may die in jail

Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah says he may die in prison
MENA
2 min read
12 September, 2022
Prominent activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah has been imprisoned by the Sisi government on and off for the past decade and has been on a hunger strike for nearly six months.
Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah has been imprisoned on and off for the past decade [Getty]

British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah has warned his family that he could die in prison.

“I don’t want to upset you, but I don’t believe there’s any chance of individual salvation,” he told his mother during her visit to Wadi al-Natrun prison, according to The Guardian. 

He also passed her a list of demands, which includes the release of those who have been detained by Egypt’s security forces. 

Abd El-Fattah has been on a hunger strike for nearly six months. 

A figurehead of the Egyptian 2011 uprising against then-president Hosni Mubarak, he has been imprisoned by the Abdel Fattah el-Sisi government on and off for the past decade.

Last year, he was sentenced to prison on terrorism charges for posting about torture on social media. 

The 40-year-old became a British citizen last year, but British officials have been prevented from visiting him in jail. He has been on a hunger strike for more than 160 days. 

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The news comes as Egypt prepares to host the Cop27 climate conference in the resort city of Sharm El Sheikh in November.

Cairo is undermining environmental groups in the run-up to the conference, according to a Human Rights Watch report published on Monday, effectively preventing them from criticising the government’s environmental record. 

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has presided over almost a decade-long crackdown against dissidents and government critics, detaining tens of thousands of people including journalists and human rights activists.