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The British-Egyptian campaigner, Alaa Abd El Fattah, who recently returned to the UK after being released from an Egyptian prison, has found himself at the heart of a new political controversy. His arrival marked the first time in 12 years he has been reunited with his family. Human rights organizations had long argued that his detention was unjust. Despite the prime minister publicly welcoming his return on social media, scrutiny followed when past online posts by Abd El Fattah resurfaced. These posts included calls for violence against Zionists and police officers, stirring significant backlash.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer expressed that he was unaware of these troubling posts, describing them as “absolutely abhorrent.” Abd El Fattah has since issued an apology, acknowledging the hurt these messages caused, particularly given the recent increase in antisemitism and violent attacks targeting the Jewish community in the UK. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has responded by commissioning a senior civil servant to investigate why ministers, both current and former, were not previously informed about Abd El Fattah’s prior statements.
In a statement released early Monday, Abd El Fattah characterized the controversial comments as “expressions of a young man’s anger” and expressed regret for the pain they inflicted. The prime minister’s spokesperson welcomed the apology, calling it “fairly fulsome” and the appropriate course of action. However, shortly after the apology, it was revealed that Abd El Fattah’s Facebook account reacted positively to a post that described criticism of him as part of a “relentless smear campaign” orchestrated by wealthy individuals, Middle Eastern intelligence services, and Zionist groups. Additionally, Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick brought attention to a second liked post, which alleged that Abd El Fattah was targeted by a Zionist-led conspiracy. Though the original of this second post was deleted, a screenshot was obtained by BBC News.
Jenrick argued that these actions cast doubt on the sincerity of Abd El Fattah’s apology, stating, “Far from distancing himself from his earlier extremist views, he confirms that he still holds them. Far from showing contrition, he is presenting himself as the victim of a conspiracy.” Jenrick further suggested that the posts could meet the threshold for revoking Abd El Fattah’s British citizenship, pointing to a potential threat to national security and asserting that his presence “is clearly not conducive to the public good.” It is notable that Abd El Fattah’s Facebook had earlier shared a picture of his reunion with his 14-year-old son upon arriving in the UK.
Abd El Fattah’s activism dates back to the 2011 Egyptian uprising which led to the ousting of Hosni Mubarak. He spent over ten years imprisoned and was convicted in 2021 for “spreading fake news” after sharing a post detailing torture, a conviction criticized widely by human rights advocates. Having been granted British citizenship through his London-born mother in December 2021, while the Conservatives were in government, Abd El Fattah’s case has recently prompted calls from Conservative politicians and Reform UK to strip him of his citizenship and deport him. Although the home secretary holds the authority to revoke citizenship when it is not deemed to be “conducive to the public good,” such measures have traditionally applied in terrorism or serious criminal cases involving national security threats. Downing Street currently does not believe the conditions for revocation are met in this instance, especially given the legal complexities and potential challenges involved.
The controversy is not new for Abd El Fattah, who was removed from consideration for a human rights award approximately ten years ago due to earlier online remarks about Israel, dating back to 2012. Rail Minister Lord Hendy sided with the government’s decision to investigate how Abd El Fattah’s tweets were initially overlooked by officials. He stated, “What he said was clearly quite abhorrent. Nobody would subscribe to that – certainly not the government. And now there is an inquiry by the Foreign Office about how these tweets were overlooked.”
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
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