Egypt: CPJ, Others Ask UN Working Group for Update On Egyptian Writer Alaa Abdelfattah

12 November 2024
Committee to Protect Journalists (New York)

The Committee to Protect Journalists, along with 26 other press freedom and human rights organizations, sent a letter on November 12 to the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) seeking updates on the urgent appeal filed on November 14, 2023, concerning the imprisonment of Egyptian writer Alaa Abdelfattah.

The appeal, submitted by Abdelfattah and his family, was supported by a letter from CPJ and other organizations on November 23. It called on the UNWGAD to review his case and issue a formal opinion on whether his detention is arbitrary and violates international law.

Abdelfattah was first arrested in September 2019 during a crackdown on protests demanding President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi's resignation. He was later sentenced to five years in prison on charges of spreading false news and anti-state activities. Although Abdelfattah was scheduled for release in September 2024, Egyptian authorities unlawfully extended his detention until January 2027, in violation of Articles 482 and 484 of Egypt's Criminal Procedure Law.

CPJ has previously called on the Egyptian government to release Abdelfattah, drop all remaining charges, and stop abusing legal provisions to unjustly prolong his imprisonment. Additionally, CPJ joined others in urging U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy to suspend all economic and financial partnerships with Egypt until the country frees Abdelfattah.

Read the full letter in English and lلعربىö.

Read the original article on CPJ.

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