El-Fattah was pardoned in September but was just given permission to leave the country. His son, 14, lives in Brighton and El-Fattah will be able to travel freely between the two nations to see him. His attainment of British citizenship came after his British-born mother in 2021 went on a hunger strike on El-Fattah's behalf. The Egyptian government does not recognize his British citizenship, and it was granted to put political pressure on Egypt.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer was thrilled that El-Fattah was coming to England. "I’m delighted that Alaa Abd El-Fattah is back in the UK and has been reunited with his loved ones, who must be feeling profound relief," Starmer said. "I want to pay tribute to Alaa’s family, and to all those that have worked and campaigned for this moment. Alaa's case has been a top priority for my government since we came to office. I’m grateful to President Sisi for his decision to grant the pardon."
He was joined by many other political leaders, such as Hamish Falconer, Yvette Cooper, David Lammy, and others. But not everyone was pleased with his arrival in Britain, saying that El-Fattah's values are not in line with those of the UK.
"Last night the government, including the PM gleefully exclaimed how thrilled they were to have secured the release of an Egyptian most of us have never heard of," journalist Nicole Lambert wrote. "According to Keir Starmer securing the release of Alaa Abed El-Fattah has been a ‘top priority’ for this government. Who is this man and why did our Government push so hard for a man who says he wants to kill Zionists?"
El-Fattah's past writings were shared on X by those who questioned the British government's glee at allowing the man into their country. This is the same government that locks up their own citizens for so-called "hate speech" in social media posts.
In 2010, El-Fattah wrote "yes, I consider killing any colonialists and specially zionists heroic, we need to kill more of them". Additional posts read: "dear zionists please don't ever talk to me, I'm a violent person who advocated the killing of all zionists including civilians, so f*ck of[f]."
In 2011, he wrote, "Will no one form an armed organization and randomly assassinate Interior Ministry officers and be rid of them? We all know that they’re all criminals." This was later deleted. That year he also said that "police are not human they don't have rights, we should just kill them all aslan."
He further wrote: "All Zionists are criminals, all racists are stupid, all humans have rights. These are examples of acceptable generalizations." In 2012, he said killing Israeli's was the best way to solve the Gaza problem, saying "there is a critical number of Israelis that we need to kill and then the problem is solved."
These comments, and his advocacy for the assassination of Israelis and political leaders in Egypt, were enough for EU leaders to revoke El-Fattah's nomination for the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. In response to the withdrawal of the nomination, El-Fattah defended his comments, saying, "Since this was during a time of war, I had armed resistance in mind."
"Every Labour minister is celebrating this Egyptian, El-Fattah, being released from Egyptian prison and coming to the UK. El-Fattah’s social media history tells us we just imported an horrific monster to our country, for no reason. What the hell is this government doing?" said analyst Andrew Fox.
"Delighted that Alaa Abd El-Fattah has been reunited with his family in the UK. I thank the Government of Egypt for this outcome," said Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy. "I first met Alaa’s family in Opposition, and I committed to them then that I would do everything I could to advocate for his return. It’s an immense relief that this has now happened."
"I’m delighted that Alaa Abd El-Fattah has arrived in the UK and is with his family. Alaa’s case has been a top priority for our Government and I welcome President Sisi’s granting of this pardon. I pay tribute to Alaa’s family for their tireless determination to be reunited," said UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper.
El-Fattah was part of the protest movement in Egypt in 2011, which saw the removal of then-President Hosni Mubarak. He was sentenced in 2015 for breaking protest laws, was released in 2019, and hen rearrested, sentenced to another five years. That conviction was on charges of spreading fake news. Activists say he was a political prisoner.
