The Government has condemned an activist’s “disgusting” social media posts, which sparked a backlash after his return to the UK from detention in Egypt.
Alaa Abd El-Fattah, of dual British-Egyptian nationality, was detained in Egypt in September 2019. In December 2021, he was sentenced to five years in prison on charges of spreading fake news.
His imprisonment was labeled a violation of international law by UN investigators, and Mr. Abd El-Fattah was released after being pardoned by Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi.
He returned to the UK on Boxing Day.
However, since then posts have emerged dating back to 2010 in which the activist appears to call for violence towards “Zionists” and the police.
They appear to be from Mr. Abd El-Fattah’s X account, but could not be verified.
Dual national Alaa Abd El-Fattah was detained in Egypt in September 2019 (PA Archive)
Sir Keir Starmer faced criticism for celebrating the activist’s return. The Prime Minister said on Friday that he was “delighted” that Mr El-Fattah was reunited with his loved ones in the United Kingdom.
“[They] he must be feeling a deep relief,” wrote Sir Keir on X.
“I want to pay tribute to Alaa’s family, and to all those who worked and campaigned for this moment.”
Sir Keir was not aware of the social media posts at the time, it is understood, and a No 10 source dismissed the idea that welcoming Mr Abd El-Fattah’s return was an endorsement of his political views.
In an updated statement on Sunday, a spokesman for the Foreign Office said: “Mr El-Fattah is a British citizen.
“It has long been a priority under successive governments to work towards his release from detention, and to see him reunited with his family in the UK.
“The Government condemns the historic tweets of Mr. El-Fattah and considers them to be deserved.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been criticized for his comments on Mr Abd El-Fattah’s return to the UK (PA Wire)
The Board of Deputies of British Jews said they had raised concerns with the Government and that there was an “urgent need” to know if Mr Abd El-Fattah still had the views expressed online.
They said: “The social media story that emerged from Alaa abd El-Fattah is deeply concerning.
“His previous extremist and violent rhetoric directed at ‘Zionists’ and white people in general is threatening British Jews and the wider public.
“The campaign between the parties for such a person, and the warm welcome issued by the Government, show a broken system with an astonishing lack of due diligence by the authorities.”
Meanwhile, the Jewish Leadership Council has expressed concern about the safety of Jewish communities following the recent anti-Semitic attacks in Manchester and Bondi Beach in Australia.
The council said: “We are shocked by the effusive welcome that Alaa Abd El-Fattah received from the United Kingdom Government.
“The Prime Minister recently reiterated his determination to eliminate antisemitism from our country but now he shared his joy that someone who was in favor of killing Zionists has arrived in the United Kingdom.
“We know from Heaton Park, Manchester, and Bondi Beach that there are those who listen to words like a call to action.
“The Government celebrated the arrival of Mr. Abd El-Fattah as a victory, British Jews will see it as another reminder of the danger we face.”
The former leader of the Conservative Party Iain Duncan Smith, who had lobbied for Mr. Abd El-Fattah’s release, urged the police to investigate his comments.
“I… regret that I signed the letter calling for the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah, because of his views, which have since come to light, are completely disgusting.
“If I had known about these, I would not have signed the letter. I encourage the police to investigate the nature of these extremist comments,” he posted on X.
Mr Abd El-Fattah was a leading voice in Egypt’s 2011 Arab Spring uprising and went on hunger strikes behind bars.
In 2014, the blogger’s posts on Twitter earned him a nomination for the Sakharov Prize of the European Parliament.
The group that supports him withdrew the nomination for the human rights award, saying they discovered a tweet from 2012 in which he called for the killing of Israelis.
Meanwhile, the shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said that the Prime Minister’s remarks constitute a “personal and public endorsement”.
“Given Mr. Abd El-Fattah’s record of extremist statements about violence, Jews and the police, it was a serious error of judgment,” he wrote.
In a letter to Sir Keir, Mr Jenrick asked him to clarify if he knew about Mr Abd El-Fattah’s statements before it was broadcast that he was “delighted” with his release.
“Condemn them without qualification, including condoning the killing of Israelis and ‘Zionists’ and the calls to kill the police and burn Downing Street?”
He asked if the prime minister would “correct the record” and withdraw the “non-alloy approval”.
“No one should be jailed arbitrarily, not even for peaceful dissent. But even the Prime Minister should not place the authority of his office behind someone whose own words share the language of racism and bloodshed,” he said.