Egypt: Nobel laureates call for release of political prisoners

Ahead of the global environment summit in Egypt, 15 Nobel literature laureates have urged world leaders to press Cairo to release dissidents and political prisoners incarcerated since the military took power in 2013.

Among the estimated 60,000 detainees, there is specific mention of British-Egyptian dissident Alaa Abd El-Fattah, who has been in and out of prison for the past decade. Mr Abd El-Fattah (40), a staunch secular democrat, has been imprisoned on catch-all charges of “spreading false news” and “supporting terrorism”, a euphemism for backing the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

The Nobel laureates called on leaders to “use your plenary address to speak the names of the imprisoned, to call for their freedom, and to invite Egypt to turn a page and become a true partner in a different future: a future that respects human life and dignity”.

The letter was signed by South Africa’s JM Coetzee, France’s Annie Ernaux, African-born Britain’s Abdul Razak Gurnah, Japan’s Kazuo Ishiguro, Turkey’s Orhan Pamuk, Nigeria’s Wole Soyinka and others. It was sent to UN secretary general Antonio Guterres, European Council president Charles Michel, US president Joe Biden, British prime minister Rishi Sunak, French president Emannuel Macron and Britain’s King Charles.

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The UN climate change conference, Cop27, which meets from November 6th-18th at Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh resort, is meant to prompt 200 participating countries to present their plans to cut carbon emissions and foster dialogue among politicians, environmental groups, community activists and businesses.

Mr Abd El-Fattah, who assumed a prominent role in Egypt’s 2011 uprising, had been on hunger strike since April, subsisting on 100 calories a day, instead of 2,500. He has ceased this regime and says he will stop drinking water when the conference meets, risking death before it concludes.

Egyptian paranoia

“I have decided to escalate, at the appropriate time, my struggle for my freedom and the freedom of all prisoners,” he wrote.

The British government has intervened since last December after he received citizenship from his UK-born mother. A foreign office spokesman told the Guardian, “We are working hard to secure [his] release and we continue to raise his case at the highest levels of the Egyptian government.”

Efforts to free him have been mounted by his mother Leila Soueif, sisters Mona and Sana, who have been imprisoned, and aunt Ahdaf Soueif whose novel, Map of Love, was shortlisted for the Booker prize.

While 50 prisoners were released ahead of Cop27, 67 local human rights campaigners were rounded up. Indian activist Ajit Rajagopal was detained as he began an eight-day walk from Cairo to Sharm el-Sheikh with the aim of raising awareness of climate change and his Egyptian lawyer was jailed when he complained. Although they were freed on Monday, their detention was seen as demonstrating the depth of Egyptian paranoia over demonstrations of any kind.