As British-Egyptian activist and writer Alaa Abd El-Fattah remains in detention, many leading figures are asking the British government to issue an official travel warning for Egypt. On 29 May, a letter was sent to the British newspaper The Times, specifying “Egypt can’t have it both ways”.
Since 2019, British-Egyptian Alaa Abd El-Fattah has been detained in Egypt. In December 2021, he was sentenced to five years in jail on account of spreading false news and harming Egypt’s national interest. However, after an 18-month investigation, an independent UN panel called the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) found on Wednesday 28 May 2025 that the activist is being illegally detained by the Egyptian government. According to their report, there are multiple reasons for the fact that his detention is considered illegal: lack of a warrant, lack of reasons for his arrest, lack of a fair trial, exercise of freedom of expression, and discriminatory detention.
Following the UN report, a letter was sent to The Times, co-signed by former UK ambassador to Egypt John Casson. The document urges the British government to take action and deploy the full range of tools it has to protect British citizens, including issuing an official travel warning urging people not to travel to Egypt. According to the letter, those who are detained by the police state in Egypt can not expect a fair process nor support from the British government as Egypt is refusing to give the UK consular access to Alaa Abd El-Fattah.
“Egypt can’t have it both ways. It pretends to be a friend and depends on flows of British tourists to keep its economy afloat. It needs to discover that kind of partnership is not compatible with abusing our citizens, and blocking our embassy from carrying out the most fundamental consular actions on their behalf,” the letter writes.
For too long this government’s diplomacy has been weak.
— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) November 8, 2022
The government must make clear there will be serious diplomatic consequences if consular access is not granted immediately and Alaa Abd el-Fattah is not released and reunited with his family. pic.twitter.com/f4cl4ZoeyM
In an interview with the BBC, John Casson says he would advise friends and family against travelling to Egypt, as they would be taking a big risk in his opinion.
Official travel advice for Egypt
At the time of writing, the UK’s official travel advice for Egypt was last updated on 20 May. It advises against all travel to within 20 kilometres of the Egypt-Libya border, except for the town of El Salloum, where it advises against all but essential travel. People are also advised against all travel to the North Sinai Governorate.
Furthermore, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) advises against all but essential travel to the northern part of the South Sinai Governorate, beyond the St Catherine-Nuweibaa road, except for the coastal areas along the west and east of the peninsula, against all but essential travel to the Ismailiyah Governorate east of the Suez Canal, against all but essential travel to the Hala’ib Triangle and the Bir Tawil Trapezoid, and against all but essential travel to the area west of the Nile Valley and Nile Delta regions. Some tourist hotspots, such as Luxor and the Valley of the Kings, are exempt from the advice.
