The Egyptian Front for Human Rights (EFHR) and global civil society alliance CIVICUS call on Egypt to immediately free human rights lawyer Hoda Abdel Moneim from prison ahead of her 65th birthday on Sunday January 28.
Abdel Moneim has spent the last five years behind bars following a 2018 arrest on false charges. She was due for release in November 2023, but authorities added new charges against her instead.
“Human rights lawyer Hoda Abdel Moneim is an innocent, elderly woman suffering severe health conditions,” said Ahmed Attalla, the Executive Director of EFHR. “As her 65th birthday approaches, Egyptian authorities should show compassion and release her to her family. Her continued detention after the completion of her prison term is clear evidence of the Egyptian authorities’ hostility towards the human rights movement.”
Abdel Moneim served on Egypt’s National Council for Human Rights, and has held several other positions, including spokesperson for the Women’s Revolutionary Coalition of Egypt, an Islamist group that opposed the removal of former President Mohamed Morsi. CIVICUS profiles Hoda Abdel Moneim as part of the Stand As My Witness campaign, which advocates for the release of jailed activists and human rights defenders worldwide.
Security agents arrested Abdel Moneim on November 1, 2018. They burst into her home at 1:30am, ransacked the house, blindfolded her, and put her in their vehicle before holding her incommunicado for three weeks. They gave no warrant or reason for her arrest.
The Supreme State Security Prosecution eventually charged Hoda Abdel Moneim with joining and funding a terrorist organization and incitement to harm the national economy and other alleged offences under Egypt’s anti-terrorism law and penal code.
After an unfair trial full of irregularities, a court convicted Abdel Moneim of most charges. It sentenced her to five years in prison plus another five years of supervised parole where she would spend every night at the police station. But authorities continued detaining her under a new case after the prison term ended.
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Egypt: Free rights lawyer Hoda Abdel Moneim on her 65th birthday
