Egypt:Alaa Abdel-Fattah family accuse UK govt of indifference six months after Sunak expressed 'concern'

No meaningful progress has been made to secure the release of jailed British-Egyptian activist and writer Alaa Abdel-Fattah, his family said on Tuesday, six months after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressed "deep concern" over his detention.

The family of the detained activist spoke of their "profound disappointment" that so little had been done to end his detention at the Wadi al-Natrun prison in the Beheira governorate north of Cairo.

"British officials have told us so many times that they are doing everything they can and that Alaa’s case is a priority, that I feel like I have deja vu,” Abdel-Fattah’s sister Sanaa Seif was quoted as saying in the statement.

"But for my brother this is a recurring nightmare, every day he wakes up and his release is no closer to becoming a reality."

The family said Abdel-Fattah has not received a single British consular visit during his detention at Wadi al-Natrun. He previously went on a 200-day hunger strike in the prison that left him unconscious.

Abdel-Fattah gained prominence during the 2011 Egyptian revolution which toppled long-time dictator Hosni Mubarak.

He was sentenced in December 2021 to five years in prison for "spreading false news" by sharing another user's Facebook post about police brutality.

He went on a hunger strike last year to protest his detention, and escalated his protest by refusing to drink water during the UN COP27 climate summit held in Egypt in November 2022. He has been held at Wadi al-Natrun since May 2022.

Sunak had expressed his concern over the detention while he met with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi as the UN COP27 summit took place. Foreign Office minister Lord Ahmad also said last year that Abdel-Fattah’s case would have a "massive bearing" on British-Egyptian relations.

"In reality business has continued as usual," the family statement read, citing trade and gas deals the British government had struck with Egypt while Abdel-Fattah has been imprisoned as examples.