Press Releases

Reps. Don Beyer (D-VA) and Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), co-Chairs of Congress’ Egypt Human Rights Caucus, issued the following statement today:

“We urge the Egyptian government to release long-detained peaceful civil society activist, journalist, and United Kingdom citizen Alaa Abdel Fattah, who is entering his 49th day of a hunger strike. Mr. Abdel Fattah was sentenced to five years in prison last year for nothing more than retweeting someone else’s online commentary, making a mockery of the Egyptian government’s claims that it prioritizes human rights. We urge the United States and UK governments to make clear to Egyptian President Sisi that his government’s continued persecution of critics like Mr. Abdel Fattah jeopardizes the security partnership Egypt wants with its Western partners, and that criminalizing peaceful dissent empowers radical groups that advocate violence as the only solution to the region’s problems.

“The Egyptian government has released some political detainees over the last few weeks. But Mr. Abdel Fattah’s continued detention, along with thousands of other political prisoners, calls into question President Sisi’s intentions. Letting some prisoners go to appease critics, while holding on to others, and continuing to take new political hostages, suggests that nothing has really changed in Egypt. Rebuilding a strong U.S.-Egyptian relationship will require the release of Mr. Abdel Fattah and others like him, as well as reform to the system that enabled his imprisonment."