Former UK ambassador to Cairo warns Brits against Egypt holidays ahead of summer rush

The former UK ambassador to Cairo has warned against holidays to Egypt, due to the continued detention of Alaa Abdel Fattah, saying a travel boycott could pressure the government to release the British-Egyptian activist.

John Casson, the UK's ambassador in Egypt from 2014 to 2018, accused Cairo of "fobbing off" the UK and "trying to push us around", saying the "normal diplomatic playbook" by the foreign office had been exhausted. Despite the detention of Abdel Fattah, the UK and Egypt remain close allies.

Instead, he called on the British public to apply economic pressure on Cairo to secure Abdel Fattah’s release. Although he was due to be freed in September, he remains in detention, reportedly because of his criticism of the Egyptian government

"Egypt pretends to be a friend of the UK and is dependent on British visitors to keep its economy afloat," he said.

"We have to demonstrate that that is not compatible with abusing our citizens and blocking our embassy."

"It is a police state in Egypt. It is violent and vindictive and it is abusing a British citizen in Alaa Abd el-Fattah."

He said that Cairo's blocking of access to Abdel Fattah by British diplomats was a denial of basic rights and diplomatic protocol, and listed other British citizens or residents who have been detained, tortured, or killed during visits to Egypt.

Such harrowing experiences for British citizens could serve as a warning to others considering travel to Egypt where visitors may face serious risks - and if UK holidaymakers do run into trouble, they are likely to receive little assistance from the embassy.

"If a friend or family came to me today and asked ‘Should we be booking our winter sun in Egypt?’, I would have to say: ‘You are taking a real risk. If you get into any kind of difficulties, if you post the wrong thing on social media even, there is no guarantee your rights will be protected," he said.

"There is no guarantee of due process and we cannot even be sure the British embassy will be able to visit you in the normal way."

It comes as Abd El-Fattah's mum, Laila Soueif, was hospitalised, 242 days into her hunger strike over the continued detention of her son.

This week, a UN panel ruled that Abdel Fattah is being arbitrarily detained and called for the activist to be freed immediately.

Abdel Fattah, a 43-year-old writer and political activist, has become a symbol of Egypt's political prisoners.

He was a key figure in the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak, and has been detained under successive administrations since.

In September 2019, he was arrested for "spreading false news" by sharing a Facebook post on police brutality.