Relatives of Egyptians imprisoned for peaceful political activity urged President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Friday to issue a general amnesty, during a Paris-based webinar highlighting Egypt’s escalating crackdown on dissent.
These testimonies and calls were shared during a webinar hosted by the Arab Centre for Law and Society Studies, a Paris-based organization founded in 2018 to promote legal reform and human rights in the Arab world.
The two-hour event spotlighted Egypt’s use of terrorism laws to suppress peaceful dissent and included speakers from politics, journalism, and advocacy.
In addition to the four relatives of detainees, participants included journalist and human rights advocate Solafa Magdy, Reform and Development Party founder Mohamed Anwar Al-Sadat, and Medhat Al-Zahid, president of the Popular Socialist Alliance Party.
Families speak out
Ashraf Omar, a cartoonist for Al Manassa, was arrested in July 2024 and referred to trial in November 2025, on charges of “membership in a terrorist group, financing terrorism, and using money and information to support terrorism.” Omar was never investigated on these charges, his lawyer Khaled Ali previously told Al Manassa.
His wife, academic Nada Mougheeth, condemned the use of terrorism allegations against peaceful individuals. “Labeling cartoonists and academics as terrorists destroys the state’s credibility,” she said.
“Will my husband be tried by a neutral judge, or one who already considers him guilty?” she asked. “These institutions have abandoned due process.” She warned that such prosecutions devastate not only the accused but also their families. A trial date has not been announced for her husband.
Shady Mohamed, a labor organizer, has spent 19 months in pretrial detention in the so-called “Palestine Banner” case. He faces charges of founding a terrorist group and spreading false news.
His wife, Salwa Rashid, said he was arrested merely for associating with people who joined a pro-Palestine protest. “How can they claim to support Palestine while jailing Egyptians who do the same?” she asked.
Mohamed Adel, co-founder of the April 6 Youth Movement, was expected to be released in February 2025 after a four-year sentence. However, authorities did not credit his pretrial detention, which could delay his release until September 2027.
His wife, Rofeida Hamdy, said visitation became more difficult after Adel began a hunger strike in September. Authorities responded by blocking visits and transferring him to the more remote 10th of Ramadan 4 Prison.
Rofeida feared her husband could be “rotated” into a new case. “They might slap him with another five years. He may not leave until 2050—or ever,” she said. She also spoke of the emotional toll, saying prolonged detention may rob them of the chance to have children.
Omar Mohamed Ali has spent 11 years in prison under a military life sentence, convicted in Case 174/2015 West Military Criminal Court on charges of joining an unlawful group, possessing unlicensed firearms, and leaking military secrets.
His sister, Sara Mohamed, said he is being punished for their late father’s alleged Muslim Brotherhood ties. “Omar is serving a life sentence because of our father’s politics,” she said.
In January 2021, the Interior Ministry told the family he would be released during Revolution Day celebrations—but it never happened.
The way forward
During the webinar, Medhat Al-Zahid, president of the Popular Socialist Alliance Party, called for “emptying the prisons” of political detainees, describing freedom of expression as vital to national integrity.
Mohamed Anwar Al-Sadat, founder of the Reform and Development Party, said some recent prisoner releases were the result of informal dialogue with security agencies, not institutional processes.
Only a few, including high-profile activist Alaa Abdel-Fattah and 38 other detainees, have been released in recent months, according to an October statement by the Public Prosecution. Some were jailed for expressing support for Palestine.
Sadat confirmed that the Presidential Pardon Committee remains frozen, despite no official dissolution. He emphasized that amnesty decisions lie with the presidency and security bodies, not the committee or the National Council for Human Rights.
Webinar coordinator Mohamed Adel called pretrial detention a form of “forced labor” when not deducted from sentencing. He urged the National Council to monitor detainees’ rights and ensure compensation.
Zahid proposed a two-year roadmap to release all prisoners of conscience.
In November, over 50 public figures, political parties, movements, and detainees' families had launched the Committee to Defend Prisoners of Conscience, under the slogan “Egypt Without Prisoners of Conscience.”
The coalition aims to unify legal and civic efforts to secure mass releases, monitor prison conditions, offer legal support, and document enforced disappearances and arbitrary detentions. The group plans to issue periodic updates to the media and relevant authorities.
