British-Egyptian activist stopped from flying to UK, says family

Egyptian Activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah Barred from Reuniting with Son in UK

Alaa Abd el-Fattah, the British-Egyptian writer and human rights campaigner recently pardoned after over a decade behind bars, was refused permission to fly to London on Tuesday, his family revealed. The stoppage from flying came at Cairo International Airport when Egyptian authorities refused to allow him to travel.

Abd el-Fattah's sister Sanaa Seif confirmed the information in her acceptance speech during the Magnitsky awards ceremony held in London. According to Seif, Abd el-Fattah had been set to attend two conferences in the UK - including the Magnitsky human rights awards - but was thwarted by Egyptian passport control.

Seif explained that her brother attempted to fly out with her on Tuesday morning but was informed that he was not allowed to travel. The development has sparked concern over Abd el-Fattah's ability to reunite with his son Khaled in Brighton after being released from prison last month.

The 13-year-old Khaled, who suffers from a special educational need, currently lives with his mother Laila Soueif in Brighton. When Abd el-Fattah was freed from jail on September 22nd, he visited Khaled for a short time but returned to Egypt before returning to the UK. However, the travel restrictions now pose an obstacle to their reunion.

Sousief's recent hunger strike - which lasted 287 days and narrowly ended after coming close to death twice in 2025 - drew international attention as she fought to secure her son's release. Abd el-Fattah was imprisoned for spreading "fake news" on Facebook following his criticism of torture in Egypt.

The uncertainty surrounding Abd el-Fattah's status has raised questions about the restrictions imposed upon him by Egyptian authorities, particularly with regards to his ability to travel freely between Britain and Egypt.
 
This is so unfair 😞 Alaa Abd el-Fattah did what many of us do on social media - speak out against injustice & criticize human rights violations in his own country. Now, he's being punished again? It's like they're trying to silence him 🀐 The fact that he was pardoned after serving 12 years is a good start, but this travel ban is just cruel πŸ˜“ His son Khaled needs his dad, especially since he has special needs. This whole situation smells fishy 🐟 Is there something more going on here? Shouldn't people be able to leave & return freely? I'm keeping an eye on this πŸ‘€
 
omg this is so unfair 🀯!! i mean what does egypt even expect us to do?? stop loving our own people? alaa abd el-fattah has been through so much already he's been in prison for like 13 years, and now they're not letting him see his own son?! it's just heartbreaking 😭... and what about all the international human rights groups who were protesting against his imprisonment? are they supposed to just forget about everything now? πŸ€” the fact that he was pardoned is one thing, but the travel restrictions are a whole different story... it's like egypt wants him to stay hidden away forever πŸ’”
 
OMG, this is so unfair 🀯! Alaa Abd el-Fattah was pardoned after being in prison for over a decade, but now he's being barred from seeing his son? That 13-yr-old kid needs his dad πŸ€—! The fact that Egyptian authorities won't let him fly to London is just ridiculous πŸ˜‚. He's been through so much already, and now this? It's like they're trying to keep them apart on purpose πŸ‘Ž. I hope something changes soon, because Khaled deserves his dad back πŸ’• #JusticeForAlaa #TravelRestrictionsAreUnfair #ReuniteTheAbdElFattahFamily
 
πŸ€” this is super messed up... Alaa was released from prison like 2 months ago & now he can't even see his son? 🚫 Khaled needs his dad badly, especially since he's got a special need πŸ€•... Egyptian authorities are being all secretive about it too 🀐 why the extra restrictions on him after he's already been pardoned? πŸ˜’
 
πŸ€” this is so worrying... alaa abd el-fattah was just freed from prison & now he can't even see his son? it's like they're treating him like a prisoner all over again 🚫😟 especially since he's been pardoned & has the right to travel freely, but egyptian authorities seem to have other plans πŸ€·β€β™‚οΈ what's going on there? is this some kind of revenge? πŸ€”
 
πŸ€” this is so worrying... i mean, alaa was just released from prison last month and now he can't even see his son? that's gotta be super tough for the whole family πŸ€• my heart goes out to khaled and his mom laila too... it feels like there are still some strings tied up with alaa's freedom and it's not looking good right now 😞
 
omg this is so not cool 🀯! Alaa Abd el-Fattah was just pardoned after being locked up for ages and now he's being stopped from seeing his son in the UK? that's like, totally unfair 😑. i mean, he's a human rights campaigner and all, but does that really give him special treatment or what? πŸ€”

and what's going on with those passport controls in Egypt? are they still being super strict and controlling? 🚫 it's like, we get it, they don't want to let him go, but do they have to make a big show of it too? πŸ™„

anywayz, this is soooo worrying for Khaled's future, poor kid can't even see his dad without some drama πŸ€•. his mom Sanaa Seif just went through so much to get him released and now it seems like all that hard work was for nothing 🚫.

i'm literally shaking with rage right now 😑, how can we stop this? does anyone know what's going on or if there's anything we can do to help Khaled and his mom? πŸ’–
 
omg what is going on with Alaa Abd el-Fattah?? 🀯 he was just pardoned after so many years in prison and now he's not allowed to see his son? it's like, totally unfair! πŸ™…β€β™‚οΈ Khaled needs him more than ever since his mom was on a hunger strike for so long πŸ˜” i hope someone can help Alaa get his passport back or something. this is crazy! 🀯
 
I'm so bummed out about Alaa Abd el-Fattah getting barred from flying to the UK πŸ€•. His son Khaled needs him so badly, especially since he's got some special needs that need attention. I feel for Laila Soueif too, who's been fighting for her son's release - 287 days of hunger strike? That's crazy! 😱 And now, it seems like Egyptian authorities are still holding him back from being with his family again. It's just not fair πŸ€·β€β™‚οΈ. What's the point of releasing someone from prison if you're just gonna keep 'em stuck in Egypt? 🚫
 
I'm really concerned about Alaa Abd el-Fattah's situation πŸ€•. I mean, after everything he went through in prison, you'd think that would be a wake-up call for Egypt to let him have some freedom, right? But it seems like they're still holding onto this "fake news" thing and using it as an excuse to keep him locked up.

And now, he's being barred from seeing his son again because of it 🀯. I mean, Khaled is only 13 years old! He needs his dad, especially with the special needs he has. It's just not right that Alaa can't even see him without some bureaucratic hurdle to jump over.

I think this whole situation highlights how Egypt still hasn't gotten its act together when it comes to human rights πŸ€¦β€β™‚οΈ. They need to start taking responsibility for their own actions and treating people like Alaa with the dignity they deserve, not keeping them locked up and silenced.

Anyway, I just hope someone does something about this soon ⏰. We can't keep watching Alaa suffer in silence πŸ˜•.
 
I'm utterly perplexed by this turn of events πŸ€”. Alaa Abd el-Fattah's recent release from prison was a beacon of hope for human rights activists worldwide, only to have it dashed on the rocks of bureaucratic red tape πŸ’”. The Egyptian government's refusal to grant him permission to travel is not only puzzling but also raises significant concerns about their commitment to his rehabilitation and reunification with his son 🀝.

It's disheartening to see Abd el-Fattah, a man who has dedicated his life to advocating for human rights and social justice, facing this type of obstruction at the hands of those who claim to support him πŸ™„. The fact that he was imprisoned for exercising his right to free speech on Facebook only underscores the need for greater accountability and transparency in the Egyptian government's handling of its citizens' movements 🚫.

I can only hope that Abd el-Fattah will soon be able to reunite with his son and continue his tireless work towards creating a more just and equitable world 🌎.
 
πŸ€” I'm really worried about Alaa Abd el-Fattah's situation... he was pardoned after being behind bars for over a decade πŸ•°οΈ and now he can't even reunite with his son Khaled in the UK πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§? It's like, what's going on? Egyptian authorities should be able to let him travel freely to see his family, especially since his son needs him so much πŸ˜”. I'm also thinking about Sanaa Seif's hunger strike - 287 days is insane! πŸ’ͺ she fought for her son's release and now it seems like Alaa is being punished again πŸ€·β€β™‚οΈ. What's the point of pardoning him if he can't even come to the UK? 🚫 It's like they're playing games with people's lives...
 
I don’t usually comment but I feel really bad for Alaa Abd el-Fattah πŸ€• He’s been through so much already, spending over a decade in prison and now facing this new hurdle of not being able to see his son Khaled πŸ˜”. It’s crazy that he was recently pardoned and set free, only to have these travel restrictions come back to bite him. I wonder what kind of conditions were placed on his passport or something 🀯. As a fan of his work, it breaks my heart to think about the obstacles in his path to reuniting with Khaled. Hopefully, there’s some way to get this resolved soon ⏰
 
😱 This is so unfair!! Alaa was released from prison after serving time for speaking out against human rights abuses in Egypt 🀯. He just wants to spend some quality time with his son Khaled who needs him, but the Egyptian government won't let that happen πŸ˜”. I mean, what's the point of pardoning someone and then taking away their freedom again? It's like they're playing a game of cat and mouse πŸ•΅οΈβ€β™‚οΈ. We need to keep an eye on this situation and make sure Alaa can reunite with his son safely ❀️.
 
this is just great πŸ™„. so after spending over a decade behind bars for "speaking truth to power", alaa abd el-fattah can't even reunite with his own son because the egyptian gov's got a few screws loose. like, what's next? keeping him under house arrest forever? and meanwhile, khaled's just stuck in britain, suffering from some special ed need without his dad around... it's just perfect 🀯. and poor sanaa seif, her hunger strike was all for nothing...
 
omg u no wna know whats goin on w/ this guy alaa abd el fattaah?? he's like a human rights activist 4 so many yrs & now hes tryna fly 2 london 2 see his son after gettin outta prison but egyptian authorities r all like "nope cant do it" πŸ˜’. like wat did they do 2 him?? hes been thru hell & back in that prison. and now his kid khaled is strugglin w/ a speshul need & needs his papa πŸ€•. sosie (his sis) just finished a hunger strike 4 her son & i'm lowkey impressed she didnt die 🀣. can we pls get some answers on why egyptian authorities r so down on him??
 
OMG, this is so unfair 😱! Alaa Abd el-Fattah has been through so much already, spending over a decade in prison for speaking out against human rights abuses in Egypt... and now he's being blocked from seeing his son? πŸ’” It's like the system is still trying to silence him. I'm worried about Khaled, too - he deserves a stable family life, not this drama 🀯. What's going on with Egyptian passport control? Is it just one more way for them to exert control over people who speak out against injustice? πŸ˜• Anyway, let's hope Alaa gets his freedom back and can be with his son soon 🀞!
 
omg this is so sad πŸ€• what's going on with that family? like they finally get released from prison and now he can't see his son again... 13 years old kid need his dad πŸ€— and it's all because of some stupid "fake news" charge lol. I mean i know it's not funny but come on, Egypt can do better than this. authorities need to chill out.
 
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