Over 350 trade unionists from across the UK and beyond have signed a statement expressing solidarity with British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah, after a wave of attacks led by Tory and Reform politicians greeted his arrival in the UK after years as a political prisoner in Egypt. The statement highlights Alaa’s rejection of antisemitism, racism…
Statement in solidarity with Alaa Abd el-Fattah We affirm our solidarity with Alaa Abd el-Fattah and extend a warm welcome to him as he is reunited with his family in Britain after spending years unjustly incarcerated alongside thousands of other political prisoners in the jails of a dictatorship for speaking out against human rights abuses.…
When a cartoon becomes a crime, authoritarianism reveals its fear of truth.
Ashraf Omar — cartoonist, translator, and political artist — has been imprisoned for his drawings, accused of terrorism for exposing social and political realities. His case is not an exception, but part of Egypt’s systematic assault on freedom of expression, independent journalism, and dissent. We demand his immediate release. The pen is not a crime.
Trade unionists from the SI COBAS union are leading a campaign to defend Mohamed Shahin, imam of a mosque in Turin and an outspoken campaigner for Palestine in the city. Shahin was seized by the Italian police on 25 November and told his long-term residence permit was being revoked and that he faces deportation to…
British-Egyptian writer and activist Alaa Abdel Fattah was released on Monday, 22 September 2025, by a presidential pardon. His release came one year late. He should have walked free in September 2024 after serving his unjust five-year sentence, but the regime refused to count the two years he had already spent in pretrial detention.
The solidarity campaign for imprisoned activist Alaa Abd El Fattah called for urgent action following the admission of Alaa’s mother Laila to hospital on the 242nd day of her hunger strike. Laila Soueif has survived on a bare minimum of fluids and liquid supplements since September and resumed a full hunger strike on 20 May.…
Egyptian Trade unionist Shady Mohamed is on hunger strike, his wife has told other activists, protesting against terrible conditions in Burg al-Arab prison where he has been held since last year on charges related to displaying a Palestine solidarity banner. Shady was among 6 people arrested for this simple act of protest and solidarity and…
Activists in Egypt have issued an urgent appeal in solidarity with Hisham al-Banna, a worker from the Samanoud textile factory who is facing dismissal from work following a month-long strike demanding the minimum wage. The workers in the factory have been fighting to win better pay after years of battles with the company bosses over…
Prominent cartoonists in Britain have rallied behind Ashraf Omar, the Egyptian cartoonist seized by police from his home in a dawn raid on 22 July. Steve Bell, Martin Rowson, Andy Davey, Dave Brown and Tim Sanders launched a call for Omar’s release in an open letter published by MENA Solidarity on 4 August. Our colleague…
Cartoonist Ashraf Omar was seized from his home by Egyptian police early on 22 July and taken away to an unknown destination, his wife told independent news website Mada Masr. Colleagues at the independent website where he worked, al-Manassa, are calling on the Egyptian Journalists’ Union to demand his immediate release. Nora Younis, al-Manassa’s editor…
MENA Solidarity Network 