Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to seek the release of Alaa Abdel Fattah.

The UK Government is very concerned by the sentencing of Alaa Abdel Fattah to five years in prison, on charges of organising an illegal protest. At the time of his initial conviction in June 2014, my predecessor, the right hon. Member for Faversham and Mid Kent (Sir Hugh Robertson) made a statement in which he expressed his concern over the case. We have raised this case in our conversations with the Egyptian government and will continue to do so.

The UK Government also remains concerned by the Protest Law under which Alaa Abdel Fattah was charged. Egypt’s constitution rightly demands respect for freedom of expression and association. I call on the Egyptian government to ensure that they implement these rights for Egyptian citizens, including by reviewing the Protest Law.