A small protest outside the British Consulate turned into a powerful stand for imprisoned writer Alaa Abd el-Fattah and forced the building to close its doors, writes PEN Melbourne.
THE BRITISH CONSULATE in Melbourne closed its doors on Monday 16 June, after being informed of a planned PEN Melbourne protest about the ongoing arbitrary detention of high-profile writer and human rights activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah in Egypt.
Abd el-Fattah, a dual British-Egyptian citizen, is an award-winning poet and political philosopher who was a key figure in the 2011-12 uprising that toppled former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s government, but has spent most of the period since then locked up and subject to ill treatment, including torture.
Monday's Melbourne action, aimed at building awareness of el-Fattah’s case and increasing pressure on the British and Australian Governments to raise the case more forcefully with Egypt, saw PEN Melbourne members with ‘Free Alaa’ placards, an open letter and information sheets take up a position outside the consulate's office building at The Paris End of Collins Street.
Spokesperson Jackie Mansourian, a coordinator of the group's Writers in Prison network, said PEN Melbourne had “adopted” Abd el-Fattah’s case because it had become clear that focusing on individuals was one of the most powerful things the organisation could do to increase awareness about the situation in particular countries.
Further, Abd el-Fattah, whose book, You Have Not Yet Been Defeated, challenges readers to ‘fix [their] own democracy’, was the type of person needed not only by the countries he lives in but by the world at large, she said.
Mansourian said:
“The Middle East needs people like Alaa — courageous, reflective thinkers who work with everyone. And we are all interconnected. In a global interconnected network of people, he matters a lot.”
Australian journalist owes his life to Abd el-Fattah
Australian journalist Peter Greste says that he owes his life to Abd el-Fattah for the support he gave him during his imprisonment in Cairo in 2012. This encounter was featured in the recent release of The Correspondent, with Greste’s experiences re-enacted by Richard Roxburgh, and Abd el-Fattah, played by Australian actor Mojean Aria.
Earlier this year, Greste joined Abd el-Fattah’s mother, Laila Soueif, on a hunger strike to urge Britain to pressure Egypt for his friend’s release. More than 250 days on, Laila Soueif is continuing the hunger strike, in an increasingly frail condition, in a London hospital.
Among the busy commuters and other members of the public who joined the PEN Melbourne protest during the blistering cold was a Pakistani refugee, an art dealer with diplomatic connections and a senior citizen who congratulated the crew for their commitment.
“It’s because of people like you that justice gets done,” this admirer said, taking a copy of the 16 June open letter about the unjustly imprisoned Alaa Abd el-Fattah. Consulate staff also received a copy of this letter via a police officer.
PEN Melbourne is one of 147 PEN International centres worldwide, whose members are united by a common concern for the art of writing and freedom of expression.
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