A British-Egyptian activist has apologised “unequivocally” for “stunning and hurtful” previous social media posts through which he seems to name for violence towards “Zionists” – however stated some had been “fully twisted”.
The historic tweets by Alaa Abd El-Fattah emerged after he returned to the UK on Boxing Day following a number of years of imprisonment in Egypt.
“I’m shaken that, simply as I’m being reunited with my household for the primary time in 12 years, a number of historic tweets of mine have been republished and used to query and assault my integrity and values, escalating to requires the revocation of my citizenship,” he stated in an announcement on Monday.
“Wanting on the tweets now – those that weren’t fully twisted out of their that means – I do perceive how stunning and hurtful they’re, and for that I unequivocally apologise.”
Alaa Abd El-Fattah was pardoned in September 2025. Pic: AP
Mr Abd El-Fattah was a number one voice in Egypt’s 2011 Arab Spring rebellion and went on starvation strikes behind bars.
He was most not too long ago detained in September 2019 and sentenced to 5 years in jail in December 2021, on costs of spreading false information.
UN investigators branded his imprisonment a breach of worldwide legislation, and each Conservative and Labour governments lobbied for his launch.
Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi pardoned the activist earlier this 12 months and he flew to the UK to reunite together with his younger son, who lives in Brighton, final week.
He had been granted UK citizenship in December 2021 below Boris Johnson, reportedly by his UK-born mom.
Mr Abd El-Fattah together with his sister after his launch from jail. Pic: Twitter/@monasosh
‘I take allegations of antisemitism very significantly’
After the historic social media posts came to light, Conservative chief Kemi Badenoch, shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick and Reform UK chief Nigel Farage known as for the house secretary to look into whether or not the activist may be stripped of his UK citizenship and deported.
In his assertion, the activist highlighted that he’s now a middle-aged father, however stated the posts had been “principally expressions of a younger man’s anger and frustrations in a time of regional crises” and the “rise of police brutality towards Egyptian youth”.
He continued: “I significantly remorse some that had been written as a part of on-line insult battles with the overall disregard for a way they learn to different folks. I ought to have identified higher.”
Mr Abd El-Fattah stated he took allegations of antisemitism “very significantly” and that among the tweets had been “misunderstood, seemingly in unhealthy religion”.
A tweet being shared to allege homophobia was really ridiculing homophobia, he stated, whereas one other had been “wrongly interpreted to counsel Holocaust denial – however in reality the change exhibits that I used to be clearly mocking Holocaust denial”.
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Mr Abd El-Fattah stated he had been trying ahead to celebrating his son’s birthday with him for the primary time since 2012, when he was only a 12 months outdated.
He missed these birthdays due to his “constant promotion of equality, justice and secular democracy”, he stated. This included “publicly rejecting anti-Jewish speech in Egypt, typically in danger to myself, defence of LGBTQ rights, defence of Egyptian Christians, and campaigning towards police torture and brutality – all at nice threat”.
Mr Abd El-Fattah stated it had been “painful” to see some individuals who supported requires his launch now feeling remorse.
“No matter they really feel now, they did the appropriate factor,” he continued. “Standing up for human rights and a citizen unjustly imprisoned is one thing honourable, and I’ll at all times be thankful for that solidarity.”
He completed by saying he had “acquired enormous empathy and solidarity from folks throughout the UK, sufficient to win me my freedom, and I can be without end grateful for this”.
A Overseas Workplace spokesperson stated it had been a “long-standing precedence below successive governments” to work for Mr Abd El-Fattah’s launch, “and to see him reunited together with his household within the UK”.
Nevertheless, the federal government condemns the “abhorrent” historic tweets, the spokesperson added.
It’s understood Prime Minister Keir Starmer was not conscious of the social media posts when he celebrated Mr Abd El-Fattah’s returned to the UK.
