UN panel says Egyptian dissident illegally detained, urges release
A UN panel of independent human rights investigators said that prominent Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abdel-Fattah is illegally detained by Egyptian authorities and urged the government to release him immediately, his family said on Wednesday.
Abdel-Fattah, a key figure in Egypt's 2011 anti-government uprising, was expected to be released from prison after his sentence ended in September, but he remains in custody in Egypt.
The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) said that Abdel-Fattah is arbitrarily detained and that Egyptian authorities have an obligation to release him immediately under international law, according to a legal opinion shared with his lawyers.
The panel, which consists of five independent rights experts, "concluded that Alaa's continued imprisonment is arbitrary and illegal."
"The UN Working Group has delivered a clear and unequivocal decision: Alaa Abdel-Fattah's detention is arbitrary and in breach of international law. Egypt is now obligated to release Alaa immediately," his lawyer, Can Yeğinsu, said in a statement.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) welcomed the panel's decision and urged Egypt to respect it without further delay.
Abdel-Fattah has been on hunger strike for nearly three months. His mother, Laila Soueif, has also been on hunger strike since September 29, the date his prison sentence was due to end.
In 2013, Abdel-Fattah was arrested while protesting and jailed for five years. Months after his release, he was arrested again and sentenced to another five years in prison on charges of spreading fake news, an accusation his family dismisses as politically motivated.
Egypt's rights record under incumbent President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi has drawn international criticism amid a crackdown on dissidents.
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