The Takeaway: Will Biden push Sisi to free Alaa Abdel-Fattah?
Plus, Netanyahu's election will test US foreign policy toward Israel; Saudi Arabia is still detaining US citizens; and State Department officials visit prison camp for ISIS dependents.
When President Joe Biden meets with his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, on Friday, Egypt’s most famous political prisoner will be on the 223rd day of a hunger strike to protest his years-long detention.
The family of 40-year-old British-Egyptian activist and computer programmer Alaa Abdel-Fattah, who stopped drinking water entirely on Sunday, wants Biden to personally resolve his case with Sisi — before it’s too late.
“I feel like President Biden is the last remaining resort,” Abdel-Fattah’s sister Mona Seif told Al-Monitor. “If he can't help in saving Alaa, I don’t know if there would be any other chance before he dies.”
The meeting with Sisi — their second of Biden’s presidency — will take place in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, where Egypt is hosting the global climate conference known as COP27 through Nov. 18. The country’s human rights record has cast a shadow over the summit, where hundreds of world leaders, CEOs and climate scientists have convened to discuss the climate crisis.
