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Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah apologized on Monday after old social media posts resurfaced in Britain, triggering backlash, condemnation from the U.K. government and calls for him to be deported or stripped of his British citizenship.
After a wave of criticism in Britain sparked by resurfaced old tweets deemed antisemitic and inciting hatred and violence and amid calls for him to be deported back to Egypt or stripped of his British citizenship, El-Fattah issued an apology.
In a statement posted on Monday, according to Al Arabiya, he said he was “deeply troubled” by the resurfacing of old tweets and their use to cast doubt on his integrity and principles.
He also apologized for the tweets, which he described as shocking and hurtful, saying they were posted as an expression of a young man’s anger and frustration over the regional crises that were sweeping the region at the time.
He also said the tweets had been written by a young person who had become deeply immersed in hostile online cultures, using reckless, shocking and sarcastic language in the world of social media.
However, he said he “never intended to offend,” adding that he had been involved in a nonviolent movement in support of democracy, full equality and human rights, and “democracy for all,” as he put it.
He also said some of the tweets had been completely misconstrued “in bad faith.”
He concluded by saying he was pained to see some of those who supported his release now feeling regret, but stressed that “whatever they feel now, they did the right thing.”
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer has come under criticism after announcing that Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah has returned to the United Kingdom following nearly 12 years as a political prisoner in Egypt, with backlash intensifying after old social media posts resurfaced.
Starmer on Friday called the return of Abd El-Fattah, who was pardoned by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in September after years of detention, a “profound relief,” saying his case had been an absolute priority for the government since it took office in July 2024.
But on Saturday, old social media posts by Abdel Fattah resurfaced, triggering a backlash in Britain. Tweets dating back to 2010 resurfaced from the rights activist on what was then known as Twitter, now X, including one in which he called for “killing Zionists.” The British government quickly condemned the posts.
A spokesperson for the UK Foreign Office said on Sunday that “the government condemns Abdel Fattah’s previous tweets and considers them abhorrent,” adding that “successive governments have long placed his release and return to his family in Britain at the heart of their priorities.”
British Jewish groups and opposition lawmakers said Starmer’s meeting with the human rights activist was a serious mistake by the prime minister.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews said it was “deeply concerned” by “extremist and violent statements targeting Zionists and white people more broadly,” warning they posed a threat to British Jews and the wider public.
Amid the controversy, Conservative shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said Abdel Fattah should be stripped of his British citizenship and deported.
Abdel Fattah returned to Britain last Friday. He obtained British citizenship in 2022 while in prison through his mother, mathematician Laila Soueif, a prominent figure in Egypt’s leftist intellectual current.
Alaa Abdel Fattah is a prominent Egyptian-British activist who became a symbol of opposition to his government’s crackdown.
He was released in September under a presidential pardon after spending years behind bars. Throughout his imprisonment, his family, human rights groups and the British government repeatedly raised his case and pressed for his release, to the point that his mother, Laila Soueif, went on a hunger strike. In July, Cairo Criminal Court ordered his name removed from the list of terrorist entities, according to a ruling based on judicial investigations.
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