Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to put pressure on the Egyptian Government to lift the travel bans and asset freezes on (a) Karim Ennarah and (b) other staff of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal rights.

Egypt is a human rights priority country. We regularly raise human rights issues with the Egyptian authorities, including the case of Karim Ennarah. The previous FCDO Minister for Africa, [Gillian Keegan], met with Mr Ennarah and also spoke to Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry about the case, during her visit to Cairo in October. We have also specifically raised the issue of travel bans, asset freezes and the importance of civil society in Egypt at the Human Rights Council in March and October 2022.