Extra Bio Info:

Reda Abdel Rahman was detained for his religious belief.

On August 22, 2020, security forces arrested Abdel Rahman, a teacher and َQur'anist blogger, alongside several relatives. A few days later, security forces released the relatives but not him. He instead remained forcibly disappeared for more than a month.

In October 2020, Abdel Rahman appeared before state prosecution accused of "joining the terrorist organization ISIS, adopting takfiri thoughts, and promoting takfiri thoughts indirectly through organizational papers." State investigators allege that Abdel Rahman and two of his cousins living in the United States were planning terrorist attacks in Egypt, targeting the police and armed forces as part of a terrorist network his uncle had established. Authorities also claimed to have confiscated weapons and explosives from Reda’s home.  Abdel Rahman was charged with joining a terrorist organization and spreading false news. 

 Abdel Rahman's health deteriorated while in custody. Prison authorities reportedly denied him proper medical care.

On February 27, 2022, Abdel Rahman was released from state custody after a judge ordered his release on February 23, 2022. 

Abdel Rahman was previously arrested in 2015 for promoting Qur'anism on his blog, which authorities shut down, and for his relationship with his uncle, Dr. Ahmed Sobhy Mansour, a prominent Qur'anist. He was also arrested in 2008 for his Qur'anist beliefs and religious expression.

Extra Bio Info:

Ramy Kamel was detained for his civil rights work and religious freedom advocacy.

On November 23, 2019, security forces arrested Kamel, a human rights activist and founder of the Maspero Youth Foundation, from his home in El-Warraq, Giza, and confiscated his phone, camera, and computer. They then took him to an undisclosed location and reportedly beat him into giving up the passwords to his devices. He was also deprived of his asthma and blood pressure medication. After being missing for hours, Kamel appeared in front of Supreme State Security Prosecution where he was interrogated without a lawyer. He was then charged with several crimes, including “joining and financing a terrorist group” and "spreading false information."

Kamel was outspoken about Coptic Christian rights in Egypt. He has documented violence targeting Copts in Upper Egypt and their forced displacement. His arrest came a few days before he was scheduled to speak at the UN Forum on Minority Issues in Geneva on November 28 and 29, 2019.

Kamel was reportedly subjected to solitary confinement while detained and was denied adequate medical care and family visits.

On January 8, 2022, Kamel was released from prison.

Extra Bio Info:

Anas Hassan was imprisoned for his alleged religious/non-belief activity. 

In August 2019, authorities arrested Hassan for allegedly running the Facebook page, "The Egyptian Atheists,” which state investigators had said promoted atheism and criticized "divinely revealed religions." 

Prosecutors later referred Hassan's case to the Economic Misdemeanors Court of Ameriya under the following articles: “publishing a religious text in a way that distorts its meaning” (Art. 161(1) ECC), “inciting people to commit felonies through oral or visual means” (Art. 171 ECC), "inciting hatred against a sect of people" (Art. 176 ECC), "assaulting Egyptian family values” (Art. 25 Cyber-Crime Law, 2018), “misusing social media” (Art. 27 Cyber-Crime Law, 2018), and more. 

On February 27, 2020, the Economic Misdemeanors Court of Ameriya sentenced Hassan to three years in prison and fined him 300,000 Egyptian pounds for "insulting religion and misusing social media."

On June 21, 2020, the Economic Misdemeanor Appeals Court of Alexandria upheld Hassan's sentence.

On February 10, 2022, the Court of Cassation rejected Hassan's appeal.

Hassan's sentence should have ended.