Dear Members of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention,
We, the undersigned 34 freedom of expression and human rights organisations, are writing regarding the recent submission to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) filed on behalf of the award-winning writer and activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah, a British-Egyptian citizen.
On 14 November 2023, Alaa Abd El-Fattah and his family filed an urgent appeal with the UNWGAD, submitting that his continuing detention in Egypt is arbitrary and contrary to international law. Alaa Abd El-Fattah and his family are represented by an International Counsel team led by English barrister Can Yeğinsu.
Alaa Abd-El Fattah has spent much of the past decade imprisoned in Egypt on charges related to his writing and activism and remains arbitrarily detained in Wadi al-Natrun prison and denied consular visits. He is a key case of concern to our organisations.
Around this time last year (11 November 2022), UN Experts in the Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council joined the growing chorus of human rights voices demanding Abd el-Fattah’s immediate release.
We, the undersigned organisations, are writing in support of the recent UNWGAD submission and to urge the Working Group to consider and announce their opinion on Abd El-Fattah’s case at the earliest opportunity.
Yours sincerely,
- Adam Coogle, Deputy Middle East Director, Human Rights Watch
- Ahmed Attalla, Executive Director, Egyptian Front for Human Rights
- Ahmed Salem, Executive Director, Sinai Foundation for Human Rights (SFHR)
- Ahmed Samih Farag, General Director, Andalus Institute for Tolerance and Anti-Violence Studies
- Alice Mogwe, President, International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
- Aline Batarseh, Executive Director, Visualizing Impact
- Antoine Bernard, Director of Advocacy and Assistance, Reporters Sans Frontières
- Bahey eldin Hassan, Director, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)
- Baroness Helena Kennedy KC, Director, International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute
- Brett Solomon, Executive Director, Access Now
- Daniel Gorman, Director, English PEN
- Grace Westcott, President, PEN Canada
- James Lynch, Co-Director, FairSquare
- Jillian C. York, Director for International Freedom of Expression, Electronic Frontier Foundation
- Jodie Ginsberg, President, Committee to Protect Journalists
- Kamel Labidi, Board member, Vigilance for Democracy and the Civic State
- Khalid Ibrahim, Executive Director, Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)
- Liesl Gerntholtz, Director, Freedom To Write Center, PEN America
- Mai El-Sadany, Executive Director, Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP)
- Matt Redding, Head of Advocacy, IFEX
- Mazen Darwish, General Director, The Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM)
- Menna Elfyn, President, Wales PEN Cymru
- Miguel Martín Zumalacárregui, Head of the Europe Office, World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
- Mohamad Najem, Executive Director, SMEX
- Quinn McKew, Executive Director, ARTICLE 19
- Ricky Monahan Brown, President, Scottish PEN
- Romana Cacchioli, Executive Director, PEN International
- Ruth Kronenburg, Executive Director, Free Press Unlimited
- Samar Elhusseiny, Programs Officer, Egyptian Human Rights Forum (EHRF)
- Sarah Sheykhali, Executive Director, and Mostafa Fouad, Head of Programs, HuMENA for Human Rights and Civic Engagement
- Sayed Nasr, Executive Director, EgyptWide for Human Rights
- Shireen Al Khatib, Acting Director, The Palestinian Center For Development and Media Freedoms (MADA)
- Tess McEnery, Executive Director, Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED)
- Wadih Al Asmar, President, EuroMed Rights
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