(NEW YORK) – PEN America today called on the U.S. government to increase its diplomatic pressure on Egypt to secure the release of writer Alaa Abd El-Fattah, as he spends another birthday in prison for exercising his right to free expression.
The blogger, writer, and pro-democracy activist who mobilized Egyptians during the Arab Spring in 2011, El-Fattah has spent most of the past decade behind bars, and continues to be arbitrarily held despite completing his full sentence on September 29, 2024.
“We are appalled by the unjust and prolonged detention of Alaa Abd El-Fattah for his political activism and free expression and by the refusal of the Egyptian government to release him,” said Karin Deutsch Karlekar, director, Writers at Risk, at PEN America. “Alaa has endured a decade of repetitive pre-trial detentions and months of hunger strike in protest against inhumane prison conditions; he has served his sentence. We urge the U.S. government to take stronger action in response to such abhorrent human rights violations, and to use their diplomatic influence to convince the Egyptian government to release Alaa.”
El-Fattah’s most recent arrest was in September 2019, where he was held for two years in pre-trial detention before being sentenced to five years in prison in December 2021. The Egyptian authorities continue to ignore calls for his release, refusing to count the two years he spent in pre-trial detention, disregarding both domestic and international laws. On September 29th, El-Fattah’s 68-year-old mother, British-born women’s rights activist and professor Laila Soueif, began a hunger strike in solidarity with her son.
The Egyptian courts have a pattern of abusing pre-trial detentions to keep human rights defenders, journalists, and dissident voices in prison for indefinite periods of time. According to PEN America’s Freedom to Write Index, Egypt has consistently ranked in the top 10 worst jailer of writers from 2019 to 2022, and 11th in 2023.
About PEN America
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. Learn more at pen.org.
Contact: Suzanne Trimel, [email protected], (201) 247-5057