The British Prime Minister has called the arrival of the blogger and Egyptian government critic, who spent 12 years in prison, a “deep relief”.
Published December 26, 2025
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced that Alaa Abd Elfattah, a British Egyptian activist and blogger, has returned to the UK after spending nearly 12 years as a political prisoner in Egypt.
Mr Starmer said on Friday that the return of Abd el-Fattah, who was pardoned by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in September after years in detention, was a “deep relief”.
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“I would like to pay tribute to Alaa’s family and all those who have worked and campaigned for this moment,” Starmer said. “Araa’s case has been a top priority for my government since it took office. I am grateful to President Sisi for his decision to grant amnesty.”
The Egyptian-British writer is the best known of the six prisoners pardoned by El-Sissi this year after a series of hunger strikes and calls for freedom from international organizations and leaders.
The former blogger was previously imprisoned in 2011 during Egypt’s uprising against former leader Hosni Mubarak. He later emerged as an outspoken critic of el-Sissi, who seized power in a 2013 military coup.
Abd Elfattah was sentenced to 15 years in prison for spreading false news in 2014, paroled in 2019, and sentenced to an additional five years in prison the same year.
Egyptian authorities deny holding political prisoners and say the government only jails activists who break the law.
Like other released detainees, Abd El-Fattah faced a travel ban after his release in September. But early Friday morning, he wrote a cryptic post to X announcing his departure from Egypt. “Children, is it possible for us to say goodbye?”
The British government had previously expressed concern about Abd el-Fattah’s prison conditions and called for his release, but faced criticism that it had not put enough pressure on el-Sissi’s government, which has close ties with both Britain and the United States.
“Praise be to God, Alaa has arrived safely in London,” his mother Laila Soueif said in a social media post on Friday.
