U.S. doing all it will possibly for launch of starvation striker in Egypt

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (Reuters) -The USA is doing “all the things it will possibly” to safe the discharge of Egytian-British activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah from jail in Egypt and President Joe Biden raised the case together with his Egyptian counterpart, the U.S. nationwide safety adviser stated on Saturday.

Biden, who flew in to Egypt’s Purple Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to attend the COP27 local weather talks on Friday, had “an prolonged dialogue on the difficulty of human rights” with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Jake Sullivan stated

“We had intensive consultations on that case whereas we have been on the bottom in Sharm,” he stated, including that Biden had directed his officers to work with the Egyptians on a number of instances together with Abd el-Fattah’s.

“We’re doing all the things we will to safe his launch, in addition to the discharge of various different political prisoners,” Sullivan advised reporters on Air Power One after leaving Egypt.

Sisi stated he advised Biden that Egypt has launched a nationwide technique for human rights and a nationwide dialogue.

Abd el-Fattah, a blogger and activists, rose to prominence in Egypt’s 2011 rebellion earlier than being swept up in a far-reaching crackdown on political dissent after Sisi, then military chief, led the 2013 ouster of Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohamed Mursi.

Rights teams say tens of 1000’s of individuals have been arrested since then together with Islamists, leftists and liberals. Sisi and his supporters say safety and stability are paramount.

Abd el-Fattah has been in detention for a lot of the final decade. He launched a starvation strike on April 2 after which escalated his protest saying he would cease consuming water on Nov. 6, to coincide with the opening of the local weather talks.

His mom, who has been making each day visits to the jail northwest of Cairo the place he’s being held, has obtained no information from her son however stated jail officers advised her on Thursday that medical intervention was made for his well being.

Sullivan stated the USA had no data on his situation.

“The Egyptians have one story on this. Clearly his household has a very totally different story. And it is a circumstance the place it is not ‘belief however confirm’, it is ‘confirm’. And we’ve not been ready to try this,” he stated.

Abd el-Fattah’s sister Mona Seif stated on Friday she had appealed on to Sisi for an amnesty for her brother, and resubmitted an official request for clemency which she first made in June.

On Saturday she stated the household nonetheless had no replace on his situation or the medical intervention.

Abd el-Fattah’s lawyer Khaled Ali went to the jail on Thursday after receiving a uncommon authorisation to go to from the general public prosecutor, however stated he was denied entry on the grounds that the allow carried Wednesday’s date.