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U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing criticism after he welcomed home a recently released Egyptian prisoner who allegedly posted violent and antisemitic language on his social media in the past.
Successive British governments have pushed for the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah, a dual British-Egyptian national who had been behind bars in Egypt for most of the last 14 years.
He was released from prison in September following a pardon by the Egyptian president but remained in the country under a travel ban that was only recently lifted, allowing him to return to the U.K. on Friday.
Starmer celebrated Abd el-Fattah’s return by saying he was “delighted” that the activist had been reunited with his family in Britain.
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Pro-democracy activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah after he received a presidential pardon. (AP)
Meanwhile, a senior member of the opposition Conservative Party criticized Starmer for giving a “personal, public endorsement” to Abd el-Fattah.
Robert Jenrick, the Shadow Secretary of State for Justice and Shadow Lord Chancellor, wanted to know whether Starmer was aware of past social media posts in which Abd el-Fattah allegedly endorsed killing Zionists and police. Jenrick also demanded that Starmer condemn Abd el-Fattah’s remarks and withdraw his “unalloyed endorsement” of the activist.
“Nobody should be imprisoned arbitrarily nor for peaceful dissent,” Jenrick wrote. “But neither should the prime minister place the authority of his office behind someone whose own words cross into the language of racism and bloodshed.”
Jenrick, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage have called for Abd el-Fattah’s British citizenship to be revoked and for him to be deported.
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Prime Minister Keir Starmer celebrated Alaa Abd el-Fattah’s return by saying he was “delighted” that the activist had been reunited with his family in Britain. ((Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images))
The U.K. government later clarified that the prime minister did not know about the “abhorrent” social media posts when he issued the welcoming statement.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said in a statement that it had been “a long-standing priority” of governments under both major parties to push for Abd el-Fattah’s release, but it said that does not imply an endorsement of his social media posts.
“The government condemns Mr. El-Fattah’s historic tweets and considers them to be abhorrent,” the statement said.
Abd el-Fattah issued an “unequivocal apology” on Sunday, describing his past comments as the “expressions of a young man’s anger” during regional crises and police brutality in Egypt.
The U.K. government said it considers Alaa Abd el-Fattah’s social media posts to be “abhorrent.” (Andrew Aitchison / In pictures via Getty Images)
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Abd el-Fattah’s family in the U.K. had argued that he spent most of the past 14 years behind bars because of his opposition to Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi’s government.
His mother, Laila Soueif, 69, was on a 10-month hunger strike to pressure British authorities to do more to secure her son’s freedom.
Shortly after Abd el-Fattah arrived at London’s Heathrow Airport, critics began circulating his past social media posts. Abd el-Fattah has previously said the comments were taken out of context and were part of a “private conversation” that happened during an Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, according to The Times of London.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.