But as she slumped in a folding chair outside the gates of the British prime minister’s office on day 129 of a hunger strike, she was just a mother — a mom trying to win freedom for her son who has spent more than five years in an Egyptian prison, accused of “spreading false news” on social media.
But the U.K.’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office said the government continues to press for Abd el-Fattah’s release, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer writing to el-Sissi on multiple occasions and Foreign Secretary David Lammy raising the issue with his counterpart as recently as on Jan. 23.
During the United Nations Human Rights Council’s review of Egypt last month, the Egyptian government insisted that Abd el-Fattah's trial was “fair,” and that his five-year prison term was set to end in 2027.
This may be a good moment for Britain to speak up because Egypt will be looking for European support in opposing President Donald Trump’s proposal to take control of the Gaza Strip and relocate its Palestinian residents to neighboring Arab countries, Soueif said.
One of Egypt’s most prominent pro-democracy activists, Abd el-Fattah has spent most of the past 14 years behind bars since taking part in the 2011 uprising that toppled autocratic former President Hosni Mubarak.
