Alaa, a voice not allowed to be heard, words not allowed to be written, a symbol of resistance against Egypt’s long history of authoritarian government rule.
The sad reality for almost every Egyptian is that speaking up against the regime costs a lot. You may pay with your whole life being thrown away behind maximum security bars and it might not only be you, it could be your whole family paying that price too.
Alaa’s story is one of many who’s been wrongfully detained by the regime.
Over the past 10 years, the majority of Alaa’s life has consistent of either imprisonment or being on probation. Still, he continued to use his voice even if it’s surrounded by the echo of prison walls, he wrote essays, columns and letters – his work has been now collected in ‘You Have Not Yet Been Defeated.’
Alaa, 40, an author, software developer and political activist was raised in a family of activists, his father, Ahmed Seif, was a human rights attorney who faced torture and imprisonment for five years in 1983 by the State Security Investigations Service. His mother is Leila Soueif, a professor of mathematics and prominent political activist.
Alaa’s sisters, Mona and Sanaa Seif follow the family’s revolutionary stances, both are political activists. Mona is a founding member of ‘No Military Trials for Civilians,’ Sanaa is a film editor who has co-founded the newspaper called ‘Gornal.’
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