Advocacy by BRISMES Council

BRISMES advocates on behalf of its members on issues that are relevant to our work to encourage and promote interest in Middle East Studies by supporting research and education, disseminating knowledge, deepening public understanding of the region within the UK and throughout the world, and where necessary defending academic freedom and speaking out.

Latest Letter

On 18 May 2022, BRISMES Council wrote to the Egyptian and UK governments to express our serious and urgent concern regarding the arrest and detention of Alaa ‘Abd El-Fattah and to call for his immediate release.

We call upon the Egyptian government to follow the precedent of other human rights defenders who have recently been freed such as Ramy Shaath, and immediately free Alaa ‘Abd El-Fattah and all other peaceful protesters, critics and human rights defenders, and to drop all charges against them.

We also call upon the UK government to unreservedly condemn such ill-treatment and to exercise all legal and diplomatic instruments available to it in order to press upon its Egyptian counterparts the importance of guaranteeing the human rights and health of Mr ‘Abd El-Fattah and of other human rights defenders, guaranteeing consular access and full support for Mr ‘Abd El-Fattah.

Letter to the Egyptian government

Letter to the UK government

Previous Letters

Database of Expertise

The Database of Expertise in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies provides a publicly available list of MENA experts with their research and areas of expertise.

Search Now