[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 86 (Thursday, May 19, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S2615]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           ALAA ABDEL FATTAH

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, last month, dozens of Egyptian political 
prisoners, including journalists, opposition activists, and lawmakers, 
were released from pretrial detention--the second group since July last 
year. These individuals had been behind bars on charges of spreading 
fake news and collaborating with a terrorist organization, accusations 
that are frequently used to silence critics of the al Sisi government.
  These releases were welcome news, but thousands of other opposition 
figures remain behind bars for acts of free speech and association that 
are not crimes under international law. One of those is Alaa Abdel 
Fattah, a blogger, software developer, and political activist who is 
also a British citizen, who has already spent years in prison. He is 
now reportedly in his 6th week of a hunger strike to protest the 
inhumane conditions he and other prisoners are forced to endure.
  Mr. Abdel Fattah was arrested in September 2019, along with his 
lawyer, Mohamed El Baqer, while on a 5-year probation period after his 
conviction for the non-crime of spreading ``fake news,'' requiring him 
to spend 12 hours of each day at a police station. He had been released 
only 6 months earlier after spending 4 years behind bars.
  He received a 5-year sentence last December after spending more than 
2 years in pre-trial detention. He has reportedly been denied access to 
reading and writing material and has not been exposed to sunlight in 
months. Visitation with a single family member is limited to a mere 20 
minutes per month.
  The Egyptian Government has pointed to the lifting of the 
longstanding emergency law in October and the release of a new human 
rights strategy as evidence of progress. Compared to nothing, that is 
arguably true. But as long as people like Mr. Abdel Fattah are denied 
due process and treated in ways reminiscent of the Middle Ages, it is 
hard to take seriously Egypt's new ``human rights strategy.''
  Egypt is an important ally of the United States. We share a common 
interest in a peaceful Middle East. But on human rights we have 
profound differences. I urge the Egyptian authorities to match their 
words with actions. A serious human rights strategy would include 
repealing laws that are used to criminalize speech and association, 
real consequences for ignoring maximum limits on pre-trial detention, 
and protections of the rights of prisoners. A good first step would be 
the immediate release of Mr. Abdel Fattah, who never should have been 
arrested in the first place.
  (At the request of Mr. Schumer, the following statement was ordered 
to be printed in the Record.)

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