Alaa Abdel Fattah is a British citizen who has spent most of the last decade behind bars in Egypt, persecuted for his writing and activism. Jess Kelly has spent two years campaigning for a travel ban and assets freeze imposed on her husband, human rights activist Karim Ennarah, to be lifted so he can join her in the UK.
These are just two examples of the dire human rights situation in Egypt – but earlier this month, both Kelly and supporters of Abdel Fattah saw a moment of opportunity when foreign minister Sameh Shoukry visited London to meet his counterpart, Liz Truss.
The day of the visit, Truss tweeted: “As the threat from authoritarian regimes intensifies, NATO stands united in defending freedom & democracy.” Any hopes this might influence her approach to Egypt, which subjects its population to a “harsh authoritarian grip”, were dashed, however. As the two ministers inaugurated the UK-Egypt Association Council, a small reference to human rights was buried in the penultimate paragraph of their joint statement, underneath details of the Cairo monorail project and the sale of two naval auxiliary ships.
