“The arrests of relatives and supporters of Ahmed Tantawy demonstrate that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s government is determined to stifle peaceful dissent and label all critics as threats,” said Amr Magdi, senior Middle East and North Africa researcher at HRW.
Tantawy, who is the former head of the leftist al-Karama Party, was one of the very few critical voices in the overwhelmingly pro-Sisi parliament between 2015 and 2019. Members of his party said that he resigned and left Egypt under pressure from security agencies. In August 2022, Tantawy left Egypt for Lebanon and has been living there for several months since. Tantawy announced that he plans to run for president in 2024.
Egypt has seen a worrying trend in the reprisals against the families of activists and critics living abroad. These reprisals include home raids, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and prolonged detention of family members without trial or charges. Lawyers attending the interrogation of two of Tantawy’s uncles said that National Security officers held the two men at a National Security Agency building in Kafr el-Shiekh for about 24 hours with no communication with the outside world before taking them to the Supreme State Security Prosecution in Cairo. Mohammad Naguib Tantawy, 71, and Mohammad Sayed Attia, 61, were detained for allegedly distributing publications calling for people to meet Tantawy at Cairo airport on May 6 and use “force” to release him if he was arrested. The prosecution presented 20 pieces of fireworks and 70 leaflets as material evidence for the detention of Tantawy’s uncles.
Human rights groups have raised concerns that Sisi’s government seeks to stifle any opposing voices and smother peaceful dissent in the country, infringing on basic human rights. The campaign of arrests against Tantawy’s supporters and family members is viewed as a part of the effort.
“There will be no fair or free elections in Egypt as long as authorities continue to stifle basic freedoms and crush the rule of law to intimidate critics,” Magdi noted.
<< photo by Alexis Fauvet >>
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