Alaa Abd el-Fattah 2025-12-02
2025-12-02
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Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Partial Answer
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Context
Following Alaa Abd el-Fattah's release from detention in Egypt, Olly Glover asked about further steps being taken to ensure his ability to travel back to the UK for Christmas.
I am sure that the Minister will join me in welcoming Alaa’s recent release from detention in Egypt, and in thanking the many people who have campaigned for and helped secure this over the years. This week, Alaa will miss the 14th birthday of his son Khaled because the Egyptian authorities are not letting him travel. It is good to hear about the engagement that the Minister describes, but what further steps can he and the Prime Minister take to ensure that Alaa is able to return to the UK to spend Christmas with his family?
I have set out some of the steps we have taken already. I met Mr el-Fattah in Cairo last month, and am in regular contact with his family. I can assure the hon. Gentleman that this case is right at the top of my priority list, as well as that of the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister.
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Assessment & feedback
The specific ask for additional measures was not addressed in detail.
Response accuracy
Q2
Partial Answer
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Context
Parliamentarians wrote to the UAE authorities on national day asking for Ryan Cornelius's release, but their efforts were unsuccessful. The MP asks about further actions that can be taken.
Ryan Cornelius, a British citizen, has been unfairly incarcerated in Dubai for the past 17 years. His son was six when he went to prison; he is now 23 years old. Some 150 parliamentarians from both Houses wrote to the Dubai authorities asking for Mr Cornelius’s release on the UAE’s national day—today—to no avail. Can the Foreign Secretary use her good offices to bring some urgency to the issue of freeing this British citizen from unfair detention?
I thank my hon. Friend for his doughty advocacy for Mr Cornelius and a range of other consular cases overseas. He will know that the former Foreign Secretary has raised this case with the UAE and met the families on 4 September, and we will continue to provide them with support. I have seen these families myself, and I am sure that we will continue to do so at times that they find useful.
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Assessment & feedback
The specific ask for the Foreign Secretary to use her good offices was not directly addressed in detail.
Response accuracy