A former British ambassador to Egypt has warned that trips to the country are a “real risk” for Brits following a UN ruling on the illegal detention of a British-Egyptian activist
The former British ambassador to Egypt has called on the Foreign Office to issue a travel warning against Egypt, highlighting increased risks for Brits following a UN ruling on the unlawful detention of a British-Egyptian activist.
John Casson, who served as ambassador from 2014 to 2018, didn’t hold back on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, describing Egypt as a “police state” that is “violent”.
His comments follow a decision by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) that Alaa Abd El-Fattah, a pro-democracy campaigner imprisoned since December 2021 on charges of spreading false news, is being unlawfully detained due to his political beliefs.
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“This is a police state in Egypt: it’s violent, it’s vindictive,” Casson stated on the Today programme. “It’s abusing a British citizen, Alaa Abd El-Fattah – tortured him. It’s kept him in prison on bogus charges. It’s causing a lot of distress to his family.
“But it’s also infringing the rights of the British Government to conduct its normal business, and it’s preventing our embassy from performing the most fundamental function of visiting and supporting British nationals when they get into trouble.”, reports the Express.
“And that’s why, along with other parliamentarians today… I’m now urging our Government to utilise all the tools it has to protect not just Alaa Abd El-Fattah, but all British citizens in Egypt. And that means, especially now, our official travel advice needs to caution against travel to Egypt.”
Mr Casson has joined the ranks of notable figures such as Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws and Lord Hain, in a robust appeal for the Foreign Office to reconsider its position on travel to Egypt. They’re urging reconnaissance and warnings for potential British holidaymakers.
In a candid interview with the BBC, Mr Casson shared a stark warning from his personal experience: “After four years as ambassador in Egypt, if a friend or family came to me today and said, ‘Should we be booking our winter sun in Egypt?’, I would be saying you’re taking a real risk.
“If you get into any kind of difficulties, you post the wrong thing on social media even, there’s no guarantee (of) your right to be protected.
“There’s no guarantee of due process, and we can’t even be sure that the British embassy will be able to visit you or support you in the normal way.”
Reflecting on his tenure in Egypt, Mr Casson recounted distressing incidents: “If I just think back to the four years I spent in Egypt, there was a Cambridge University student who was tortured to death over a period of several days in police cells.”
Mr Casson spoke to the BBC, saying: “Of course, our civil servants are always cautious about offending a country like Egypt, and that’s why we’re really saying this: this needs political will.
“It takes political will and a readiness to take real action and say that Egypt can’t have it both ways. Egypt pretends to be a friend.
“It relies on British tourists to sustain its economy, and we must show that this is not compatible with mistreating our citizens and obstructing our embassy. We can’t continue with business as usual.”
Just last week, 100 MPs and peers called on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to “deploy every tool” at his disposal to assist in the release of Mr Abd El-Fattah.
