UN panel says Egyptian dissident illegally detained, urges release
Abdel-Fattah, a key figure in Egypt's 2011 anti-government uprising, was expected to be released from prison after his sentence ended in September, but he remains in custody in Egypt.
The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) said that Abdel-Fattah is arbitrarily detained and that Egyptian authorities have an obligation to release him immediately under international law, according to a legal opinion shared with his lawyers.
The panel, which consists of five independent rights experts, "concluded that Alaa's continued imprisonment is arbitrary and illegal."
"The UN Working Group has delivered a clear and unequivocal decision: Alaa Abdel-Fattah's detention is arbitrary and in breach of international law. Egypt is now obligated to release Alaa immediately," his lawyer, Can Yeğinsu, said in a statement.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) welcomed the panel's decision and urged Egypt to respect it without further delay.
Abdel-Fattah has been on hunger strike for nearly three months. His mother, Laila Soueif, has also been on hunger strike since September 29, the date his prison sentence was due to end.
In 2013, Abdel-Fattah was arrested while protesting and jailed for five years. Months after his release, he was arrested again and sentenced to another five years in prison on charges of spreading fake news, an accusation his family dismisses as politically motivated.
Egypt's rights record under incumbent President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi has drawn international criticism amid a crackdown on dissidents.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Israeli President Herzog urges Hamas to release hostages
Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday called for the immediate release of Israeli hostages held by militant Palestinian Hamas, during a visit to Estonia. The hostages are in a "life risking situation," Herzog said after a meeting with his Estonian counterpart Alar Karis in Tallinn and appealed to the international community to work towards a hostage deal and a ceasefire. As on previous days during visits to Latvia and Lithuania, he held up pictures of two hostages recently published by Hamas. According to Israeli sources, 50 people kidnapped from Israel are still being held in the Gaza Strip, 20 of whom are believed to be alive. The forum of hostage relatives recently has warned the remaining captives are in imminent danger of death. Medical experts had also come to this conclusion on the basis of the most recently published videos, which showed hostages emaciated to the bone. Herzog also called for a critical approach to photos and videos of starving people from Gaza, which he believes could be staged. "So we don't shy away from the humanitarian need to help the people of Gaza," Herzog noted, but asked the world not to fall for lies. According to Herzog, Israel has let 30,000 tons of aid into the Gaza Strip in the past week. The UN, on the other hand, is holding back almost 800 lorries of goods and is failing to distribute them, he claimed. The UN rejects such accusations and accuses Israel of obstructing the distribution of aid through its warfare. A week and a half ago, Israel authorised the import of aid supplies on a large scale for the first time in months. Nevertheless, international organizations have said the amount that is being let in is far from sufficient to avert a looming hunger crisis. Solve the daily Crossword
Boston Globe
4 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Hiroshima survivors fear rising nuclear threat on the 80th anniversary of atomic bombing
The bombing of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, destroyed the city and killed 140,000 people. A second bomb dropped three days later on Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui warned against a growing acceptance of military buildups and of using nuclear weapons for national security during Russia's war in Ukraine and conflicts in the Mideast, with the United States and Russia possessing most of the world's nuclear warheads. Advertisement 'These developments flagrantly disregard the lessons the international community should have learned from the tragedies of history,' he said. 'They threaten to topple the peacebuilding frameworks so many have worked so hard to construct.' He urged younger generations to recognize that such 'misguided policies' could cause 'utterly inhumane' consequences for their future. Advertisement 'We don't have much time left, while we face a greater nuclear threat than ever,' said Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese grassroots organization of survivors that won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for its pursuit of nuclear abolishment. 'Our biggest challenge now is to change, even just a little, nuclear weapons states that give us the cold shoulder,' the organization said in its statement. About 55,000 people, including representatives from a record 120 countries and regions, including Russia and Belarus, attended the ceremony. A minute of silence was held while a peace bell rang out at 8:15 a.m., the time when a US B-29 dropped the bomb on the city. Japanese Prime Minister Hours before the official ceremony, as the sun rose over Hiroshima, survivors and their families started paying tribute to the victims at the Peace Memorial Park, near the hypocenter of the nuclear blast 80 years ago. Kazuo Miyoshi, a 74-year-old retiree, came to honor his grandfather and two cousins who died in the bombing and prayed that the 'mistake' will never be repeated. 'We do not need nuclear weapons,' Miyoshi said. 'There is hope,' UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in a statement read by Izumi Nakamitsu, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, noting Nihon Hidankyo's Nobel Peace Prize and countries' re-commitment to a nuclear free world in 'the Pact for the Future' adopted last year. Guterres stressed the importance to carry forward the survivors' testimony and message of peace and added: 'Remembering the past is about protecting and building peace today and in the future.' Advertisement Near Hiroshima's iconic Atomic Bomb Dome under high security, more than 200 protesters gathered, holding posters and flags carrying messages such as 'No Nuke, Stop War' and 'Free Gaza! No more genocide' while chanting slogans. Local police said two people were arrested in separate cases, each on suspicion of assaulting a security guard. Wednesday's anniversary comes at a time when possession of nuclear weapons for deterrence is increasingly supported by the international community, including Japan. Some survivors said they were disappointed by President Trump's recent remark justifying Washington's attack on Iran in June by comparing it to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the mild response from the Japanese government. 'It's ridiculous,' said Kosei Mito, a 79-year-old former high school teacher who was exposed to radiation while he was still in his mother's womb. 'I don't think we can get rid of nuclear weapons as long as it was justified by the assailant.' In the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV said Wednesday that he was praying for those who suffered physical, psychological, and social effects from the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, adding that the event remains 'a universal warning against the devastation caused by wars and, in particular, by nuclear weapons.' Japan's government has rejected the survivors' request to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons or attend its meetings as observers because it is under the protection of the US nuclear umbrella. Matsui, the city's mayor, in his speech Wednesday, urged Japan's government to sign and ratify the nuclear weapons ban treaty, a request also made by several groups of survivors in their meeting with Ishiba after the ceremony. Advertisement Ishiba, in a speech, reiterated his government's pledge to work toward a world without nuclear weapons, but did not mention the treaty and again indicated his government's support for nuclear weapons possession for deterrence. At a news conference later Wednesday, Ishiba justified Japan's reliance on US nuclear deterrence, saying Japan, which follows a non-nuclear principle, is surrounded by neighbors that possess nuclear weapons. The stance, he said, does not contradict Japan's pursuit of a nuclear-free world. Past prime ministers have stressed Japan's status as the world's only country to have suffered nuclear attacks and have said Japan is determined to pursue peace, but survivors say it's a hollow promise. The Japanese government has only paid compensation to war veterans and their families, even though survivors have sought redress for civilian victims. They have also sought acknowledgment by the US government of its responsibility for the civilian deaths.
Business Insider
4 hours ago
- Business Insider
Tensions rise as Sudan accuses the UAE of banning its planes from its airspace
The incident was relayed on Wednesday by the Sudanese state news agency, which described it as the most recent event in an expanding diplomatic dispute between the two countries. Travel plans for Sudanese citizens were further disrupted when the country disclosed that a Sudanese airplane was barred from taking off from Abu Dhabi airport in addition to the landing prohibition. As reported by Reuters, the decision shocked the Civil Aviation Authority, which also stated that it was actively working with airlines to reschedule passenger bookings involving the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi officials have yet to provide a public reaction to Sudan's remarks. This diplomatic disagreement comes months after Sudan broke relations with the UAE in May 2025, accusing the Gulf nation of providing modern equipment to Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) during its protracted civil war. Sudan's transitional council has been particularly vocal in its criticism, branding the UAE an 'aggressor state' and vowing to respond to its alleged interference 'by every means to preserve the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity.' Rift between Sudan and UAE and a heated UN confrontation The Sudanese army has long accused the UAE of assisting the RSF, and in April 2025, those allegations looked to become stronger. During the same month, UAE state media reported that authorities had thwarted an attempt by Sudanese military leaders and associates to smuggle ammunition to Sudan's army illegally. According to the WAM news agency, security services discovered roughly five million rounds of ammunition aboard a private aircraft at an unspecified airport and subsequently made several arrests. Sudan has also accused the UAE of supplying the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a prominent paramilitary force in Sudan, with sophisticated and strategic weaponry, which has significantly escalated the two-year-old battle. The UAE has repeatedly denied that it armed or supported any group in Sudan's civil war. The matter was brought to the forefront of global discussions in June 2024, during a heated debate at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Sudan's ambassador to the UN, Al-Harith Mohamed, accused the UAE of stoking the conflict by sending guns to the RSF. He noted that UAE-backed fighters were responsible for widespread devastation and civilian fatalities. The ambassador also claimed to have proof and stated Sudan's plan to deliver a report on the UAE's acts to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
