A COALITION of human rights organisations have urged Foreign Secretary David Lammy to take a “strong stand” against the arbitrary detention of British pro-democracy activist Alaa Abd Fattah at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC).

Mr Fattah’s 68-year-old mother Laila Soueif has been on hunger strike for more than four months in a desperate appeal to free him from his unjust five-year prison sentence in Egypt.

The letter — which was organised by FairSquare and signed by 25 leading human rights organisations including Amnesty International — urges Mr Lammy to lead on a joint statement at the HRC calling for his urgent release.