Egypt: Drop charges against activists arrested for demanding release of unjustly jailed prisoners

The Egyptian authorities must immediately halt the unjust prosecutions of three human rights activists arrested solely for organizing a peaceful event calling for the release of those arbitrarily detained, Amnesty International said today.  

On 25 May, Egyptian police arrested pharmacist Hanan Altantawy, and lawyers Mohamed Abu al-Dayyar and Wafaa al-Masry, all members of the informal group the Committee to Defend Prisoners of Conscience (CDPC), for the group’s involvement in organizing a public event in Cairo two weeks earlier highlighting cases of people unjustly detained for political reasons. Altantawy and al-Masry were released on bail on the day of their arrest but prosecutors ordered that Abu al-Dayyar be held in pretrial detention for 15 days. All three face criminal investigations in connection with accusations of “disseminating false news”, with Abu al-Sayyar is additionally facing terrorism-related charges.  

“By pursuing these unjust prosecutions, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s government is sending a clear message that it has no intention of changing course or addressing the country’s decade-long arbitrary detention crisis. It is rank hypocrisy for the authorities to claim progress on human rights to international partners such as the EU while arresting people for peacefully advocating justice and freedom for unjustly imprisoned activists, journalists and politicians,” said Mahmoud Shalaby, Regional Researcher at Amnesty International. 

Instead of arresting peaceful activists, the Egyptian authorities must end their relentless crackdown on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly and end the rampant use of arbitrary detention to intimidate activists that has devastated thousands of lives.

Mahmoud Shalaby, Regional Researcher at Amnesty International

“Instead of arresting peaceful activists, the Egyptian authorities must end their relentless crackdown on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly and end the rampant use of arbitrary detention to intimidate activists that has devastated thousands of lives. The authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Mohamed Abu al-Dayyar and drop all charges against Hanan Altantawy and Wafaa al-Masry.” 

On 12 May, the CDPC organized a public  exhibition titled ‘They don’t belong in prison’ at the Cairo headquarters of the political party Bread and Freedom, highlighting the cases of several arbitrarily detained individuals, including Ashraf Omar, Marwa Arafa, Mohamed Adel, and Yehia Hussein Abdelhady. 

On 25 May, at around 1am, police went to the home of Abu al-Dayyar, the former campaign manager of presidential candidate Ahmed Altantawy, and arrested him. Egypt’s Supreme State Security Prosecution (SSSP) prosecutors opened investigations against him on accusations of “joining a terrorist group,” “disseminating false news,” and “using a website to promote terrorist activities.” They questioned him about the work of the CDPC, its exhibition and venue, as well as his reasons for working on Altantawy’s electoral campaign, according to his lawyer from the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR).  

The police presented as evidence of the accusations above a screenshot of a Facebook post about prisoners of conscience and a CD containing material related to photographs displayed at the exhibition. 

This is not the first time the Egyptian authorities have targeted Abu al-Dayyar. In February 2024, a court sentenced him to a year in prison on charges of conspiring and inciting others to “disseminate election-related material without authorization.” These charges stemmed from calls made by Ahmed Altantawy’s electoral election campaign urging people to complete endorsement forms online, after his supporters faced obstacles and intimidation when they attempted to register endorsements at public notary offices.  

A few hours after Abu al-Dayyar’s arrest, on 25 May police arrested Wafaa al-Masry from where she was staying while she was on holiday in Egypt’s North Coast. SSSP prosecutors investigated her on charges of “disseminating false news,” according to her lawyer, human rights defender Mahienour El-Massry. They questioned her about her role in organizing the exhibition and the criteria the CDPC uses to select cases for its campaigns, among other issues. On the same day, prosecutors ordered her release pending investigations on bail of 50,000 EGP (USD 957).  

Also on the morning of 25 May, police raided Hanan Altantawy’s home in Giza and arrested her, according to human rights lawyer Nabeh Elganadi. SSSP prosecutors investigated her on charges of “disseminating false news” and questioned her about the work of CDPC and the exhibition. On the same day, prosecutors ordered her release pending further investigations, on bail of 50,000 EGP (USD 957).  

On 17 May, the CDPC issued a statement denouncing the arrest and intimidation of families of people held for political reasons in connection with the exhibition organized by the CDPC. Amnesty International learned that the authorities arrested several relatives of detainees in connection to the exhibition, before releasing them within days. 

The CDPC is an informal group of members of political parties, activists, and other public figures who came together in November 2025 to campaign for the release of all those unjustly imprisoned through legal, media, and political advocacy. 

Background 

Thousands of people continue to languish in arbitrary detention in Egypt solely for exercising their human rights, without legal basis or following grossly unfair trials. In November 2025, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) stated with concern that the proliferation of arbitrary detention cases in Egypt indicates that the practice is systematic or widespread in the country.