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British-Egyptian democracy advocate activist Alaa Abdel Fattah was prevented from flying to the UK by Egypt's passport control recently, his family say.

Mr Abdel Fattah, 43, was Egypt's best known political prisoner until recently, when he was released from jail after being granted a pardon by President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi.

He tried to travel to the UK capital on Tuesday with his sibling Sanaa, but was informed by officials at Cairo International Airport that he was not allowed to travel.

"They prevented him from boarding the flight and I had to go alone," Sanaa told media outlets on recently.

"They provided little explanation. Our lawyers in the country are attempting to determine the legal grounds," Sanaa said.

She noted that her sibling had his UK travel document as well as a newly updated Egyptian passport.

"I assumed after the renewal of the national document that he would be allowed."

Personal Circumstances

Alaa Abdel Fattah's 13-year-old child, Khaled, lives with his parent in the English city, where he attends a special needs school because he is on the autistic spectrum.

Khaled passed a four weeks seeing his parent in the Egyptian capital following his release from prison, but he has now gone back to the UK.

"We're extremely pleased to have [Alaa] returned in our lives partially free, but he requires to have travel rights to reside with his child, reunited with him fully," Ms Seif commented.

She added: "Khaled requires his father. My nephew… is extremely settled in his school and his arrangements in the city. We can't change this. We can't keep producing instability."

Government Response

Ms Seif said the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office had been communicating with her family over the issue, but she called on the UK government leadership to also address the matter.

The FCDO stated in a statement: "President Sisi's choice to pardon and free Alaa Abdel Fattah was extremely welcome news and a significant step forward."

"We persist to advocate for his prompt reunion to the UK at the highest levels with the Egyptian government so he can be brought back together with his family. The case remains a priority issue for the UK government."

Background Context

On recently, Alaa Abdel Fattah and his mother were awarded the 2025 Magnitsky Award for "Courage Under Fire". Sanaa had to collect the award on their part.

Mr Abdel Fattah gained recognition during the Arab Spring protests in Egypt that forced long-serving President Hosni Mubarak to resign.

He passed the majority of his time in prison after that year, the following Sisi commanded the military's overthrow of Egypt's first democratically elected president, Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Morsi, following public demonstrations.

While in authority, Sisi has presided over what advocacy organizations describe is an unprecedented crackdown on opposition that has resulted in the imprisonment of numerous of people.

In 2015, a judicial body convicted Mr Abdel Fattah to five years in prison for participating in an unauthorised protest.

In late 2019, only half a year after he had been released on probation, he was detained again and kept in pre-hearing custody for more than two years.

He was convicted in late 2021 of "spreading false news" for sharing a message about a prisoner passing away of mistreatment and given a further half-decade imprisonment following a court proceeding that human rights groups described was highly unjust.

His 68-year-old parent, Leila, began a extended hunger strike last September 2024 to demonstrate against his imprisonment. She shed more than 40% of her initial mass and was two times taken to medical facility in London.