Hannah Felsbourg
6 September 2024
Religious freedom advocates are calling for the immediate release of a Christian imprisoned in Egypt after he announced a hunger strike in a letter to his wife and children.
Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo has been detained in Egypt without trial for more than two and a half years after contributing to a Facebook group for Christian converts from Islam.
Alliance Defending Freedom International and Amnesty International are joining other religious freedom leaders in advocating for his urgent and safe release.
Mr Abdo fled from his home in Yemen in 2014 after violent attacks following his conversion to Christianity. His wife at the time died when their house was set on fire.
He had been living in Egypt along with his remaining family as a registered asylum seeker under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
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Egyptian authorities arrested him in 2021 for his involvement with a Facebook page that is dedicated to supporting people who converted from Islam to Christianity.
Speaker on Islam and Christianity Bernie Power said public attention and support from rights organisations had so far contributed to Mr Abdo’s protection.
He said public awareness made it difficult for the Egyptian government to take quiet action against Mr Abdo, as people were monitoring and tracking his situation.
If Mr Abdo’s case received enough international attention Egypt might release him in response to the pressure due to the country’s reliance on foreign aid.
Dr Power said with increasing availability of technology, Christians going to prison for posting online about their faith had become more prevalent in recent years.
He said that while punishing those who left or denounced Islam was not universally accepted, apostasy remained punishable under Islamic law in many places.
Author and human rights advocate Ayaan Hirsi Ali said Egyptian officials violated the father and husband’s human rights and had to release him back to his family immediately.
“That ordinary people can be locked in tiny cells for years simply for expressing beliefs in a private Facebook forum is grotesque,” she said.
“The imprisonment of Yemeni refugee Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo at the hands of Egyptian authorities is a surreal example of censorial blasphemy policies in action. It’s also illegal.”
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Mr Abdo and fellow-Christian Nour Girgis were arrested after authorities linked them to the Christian Facebook page and accused them of terrorist activities.
Both men have been in pre-trial detention for more than two and a half years, repeatedly moved between centres as their trials are continually postponed.
During this time, their physical health has continued to decline. They have been allowed only occasional visits from family and legal counsel throughout the ordeal.
United States representative Chris Smith appealed to the government to release Mr Abdo into a safe situation.
“His imprisonment is a grave and grotesque violation of his human rights. News of his hunger strike makes it more urgent than ever that he be released,” he said.
The full English translation of Mr Abdo’s letter can be found here.
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