British citizen on starvation strike in Egypt jail says farewell to household amid fears for his life

A British citizen held and tortured in a most safety jail in Egypt, has stated goodbye to his household as his well being deteriorates whereas he enters the second month of a starvation strike demanding the correct to a consular go to.

Alaa Abdel Fattah, 40, a British-Egyptian activist who was a number one determine within the 2011 Arab Spring rebellion, launched an open-ended starvation strike on 2 April, consuming solely water with rehydration salts as he calls for his proper to see embassy officers.

The jail has carried out no medical checks on him regardless of the actual fact he has misplaced weight and may be very weak.

Mr Abdel-Fattah, a software program developer and blogger, informed his household throughout a jail go to on Sunday, that he has now been barred from sending letters, a key lifeline of details about his situation, and so wanted to say his goodbyes ought to the worst occur within the month till the subsequent go to.

The secular activist has been jailed by each Egyptian president in his lifetime and has spent many of the previous decade behind bars. Along with different members of the family, he has been repeatedly focused by the administration of President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi.

He’s at the moment three-and-a-half years into his newest five-year sentence, handed down following a trial labelled a “sham” by rights teams. He was convicted on expenses of spreading false information after he shared social media posts that had been essential of horrible jail circumstances below the military-backed regime.

He was crushed and tortured on entry to Tora jail, in Cairo, and has been barred entry to books, writing implements, daylight, a mattress, train and extra not too long ago a consular go to. Egypt has repeatedly denied any accusations it treats prisoners poorly or that it holds political prisoners.

Mona Seif, 36, Mr Abdel-Fattah’s sister who can also be a British-Egyptian rights defender, informed The Unbiased that Sunday’s go to was “essentially the most intense” she has ever had along with her brother.

“He’s frightened that he’s getting into his second month of full starvation strike, a month the place he shall be in full isolation. He informed me that even when he resists, he can not belief his physique is not going to fail him,” she added.

“He’s additionally frightened throughout this time that they’ll make the most of the truth that he’s in full isolation and use excessive power with him, topic him to extra torture.”

Mr Abdel-Fattah lastly secured his British passport in December. His mom Laila Soueif, a arithmetic professor at Cairo College, was born in London.

However Ms Seif stated since then they’ve seen no optimistic modifications in his remedy and in reality have seen his circumstances worsen “setting a worrying precedent for different British residents behind bars in Egypt”.

The safety forces in Tora’s maximum-security Jail Two the place he’s being held have, in current weeks, stepped up their presence throughout household visits and round in his cell, which the household say is a worrying signal.

“The banning of letters is a present of power in opposition to the UK considering of talking on behalf of Alaa,” she added.

“If there isn’t a robust sufficient response to what’s occurring, it’s affirming what the Egyptian authorities try to ascertain: which is that Alaa is much more weak as a British citizen.”

The International Workplace declined to enter particulars about what particular efforts they had been making to safe a consular go to for Mr Abdel-Fattah or his launch.

In recent times a handful of activists with twin nationality have agreed to relinquish their Egyptian citizenship as a situation for his or her launch, a authorized manoeuvre that enables authorities to deport foreigners accused of crimes.

An FCDO Spokesperson stated: “We’re supporting the household of a British nationwide detained in Egypt and are urgently in search of consular entry. We’re in touch with the Egyptian authorities.”

The Unbiased reached out to the Egyptian authorities however acquired no reply. Prior to now Egypt and President Sisi himself, have repeatedly denied it has any political prisoners, or that it’s crushing freedoms. They’ve vehemently rejected criticism of its rights file as anti-government propaganda.

Final 12 months, the Egyptian authorities launched what he known as a “human rights technique”. President Sisi, a key British and American ally, stormed to energy in 2014 after presiding over a army coup which ousted his predecessor, the unpopular Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

In 2019 Mr Morsi dropped lifeless in court docket after he was held in circumstances {that a} UN panel of consultants concluded “can solely be described as brutal”.

Within the years since, the Egyptian authorities has relentlessly focused dissenters together with essentially the most outstanding faces of the 2011 rebellion, like Mr Abdel-Fattah.

Lots of of individuals have been killed and tens of 1000’s imprisoned, together with Alaa’s youthful sister Sanaa, who’ve each been jailed a number of occasions over time.

Below President Sisi he was first sentenced in 2014 after being convicted of participating in an unauthorised protest and allegedly assaulting a police officer. He was launched in 2019 after serving a five-year time period however he was shortly re-arrested throughout which period he was stripped, crushed and tortured.

His lawyer Mohammed al-Baqer who went to signify him, was then arrested and put in the identical case with Mr Abdel-Fattah alongside blogger Mohammed “Oxygen” Ibrahim. Each Mr al-Baqer and Mr Ibrahim have been sentenced to 4 years in jail.

Through the trial his household say he was not permitted interviews along with his legal professionals who had been additionally not granted entry to the case recordsdata. He was sentenced after simply three periods.

He’s now being held in Tora most safety jail two – a newly constructed facility below Mr Sisi – in a block often reserved for jihadists and extremists.

He requested a consular go to from the British embassy in December, which has to this point been denied by the Egyptian jail authorities.

One month into his starvation strike he despatched a message to The Unbiased from jail, the place he appeared to specific suicidal ideas.

“In June 2011 I used to be in a small jail in downtown Cairo throughout the interval the place the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces had been in cost,” he stated the communique despatched from jail throughout the newest go to on the jail final week.

“There was a prisoner with me who had each fingers damaged severely from torture and was in excruciating ache. Although he was about to be launched, he threw himself out of the window.

“That is how I really feel.”

His sister Ms Seif stated the remedy of him was so intense and “irrational” that it felt virtually “vindictive”.

“Even when they don’t wish to deliberately hurt him, if he deteriorates, we fear they gained’t attend to him [medicially].”

She added that the one factor that makes the household really feel higher is ”counting on different prisoners to save lots of him if he tries” to kill himself or if his well being fails him.

Amnesty Worldwide researcher Hussein Baoumi informed The Unbiased, circumstances in Egypt’s prisons had been so unhealthy that in 2021 they recorded 56 instances of detainees who died in custody resulting from medical negligence and 4 others following studies of torture.

Mr Baoumi stated Alaa’s case “illustrates the repressive techniques the Egyptian authorities are utilizing to punish human rights defenders”.

“Not solely did they arbitrarily detain him on unfounded expenses, they sentenced him in an unfair trial in entrance of an emergency court docket on the idea of sharing posts.”

“They tortured him when he first arrived and have subjected him to inhumane remedy that’s unlawful not solely below worldwide regulation however even below Egyptian regulation.”

Mr Baoumi cited for instance the withholding of books and mattresses which must be permitted for prisoners below Egyptian regulation.

Ms Seif stated he sleeps on a concrete ground and final week he was forbidden from receiving a clear T-shirt, a sheet, a e book and a Mickey Mouse journal on the bottom they had been “contraband” objects. He’s additionally not allowed a watch or to know the time of day.

“Since 2019 he additionally hasn’t been allowed any outing of the cell so he doesn’t get uncovered to direct daylight,” Ms Seif continued.

“In addition they emptied all of the cells subsequent to him, above and beneath him to verify he can not talk by the wall.”

The household believes it is because Mr Abdel-Fattah studies each single violation he encounters and since he used to take pleasure in talking to different prisoners by the partitions.

“He used to offer lectures on the historical past of science, and the historical past of the human rights motion to the folks within the different cells,” she added.

She stated having UK citizenship was the one mild on the finish of the tunnel for the household now.

“On this full bleakness it’s inconceivable to even assume or think about a future in Egypt,” she stated.

“For the primary time once we finalised Alaa’s passport, we began imagining a future for all of our household.

“We hope we are able to get the assist of the FCDO and authorities.”