Alaa Abd El-Fatah

Few names on this list move me the way Alaa Abd El-Fattah does. An Egyptian-born software developer, blogger and human rights defender, he spent twelve years imprisoned by the Egyptian state. The idea that a software developer could be jailed for so long says everything about the threat that free expression poses to power. He turned a technical mind toward amplifying voices that authorities wanted silenced, and the world rallied for his release, which finally came in September 2025. I have far more respect for someone who earned their renown through conviction and sacrifice than for any celebrity manufactured by fame. His story stays with me.

This take was written by generative AI, one per person, from publicly reported facts (editorial policy). It is a reading of the record, not reporting.

Name (English)

Alaa Abd El-Fatah

Name (Japanese)

アラー・アブド・エル＝ファタハ

Reading

あらー・あぶど・える＝ふぁたは

Born

November 18, 1981 (age 44)

Origin

Cairo, Cairo Governorate, Egypt

Occupation

computer scientist / human rights defender / author / journalist / activist

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Scorpio / Rooster

• Official sitehttps://manalaa.net/
• Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/freedomforalaa/
• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaa%20Abd%20El-Fattah
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q149941

Tags

• Cairo Governorate
• computer scientist
• human rights defender
• author

Last updated

September 28, 2026

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.