Hoda Abdel Moneim, Egypt

I am a human rights lawyer from Egypt and formerly served on Egypt's National Council for Human Rights. I was also a member of the Egyptian Parliament from 2012 to 2013.

I have held several other positions, including acting as spokesperson for the Women's Revolutionary Coalition of Egypt, an Islamist group that opposed the removal of former President Mohamed Morsi. I have also represented Egypt in international conventions and declarations on women's and children's rights. 

On November 1, 2018, unknown state security forces burst into my house in Nasr City in Cairo at 1:30 am, blindfolded me and put me in their vehicle. Afterwards, the officers self-identified themselves as members of the State Security.

However, they never presented to me an arrest warrant or gave me the reason for my arrest. The security forces ransacked my house after arresting me, destroying several of my family's possessions. 

The Supreme State Security Prosecution (SSSP) charged me with joining and funding a terrorist organisation and incitement to harm the national economy under Egypt's anti-terrorism law and penal code. The SSSP have presented no witnesses or evidence to prove the alleged charges. Official legal documents about the case are not available to my lawyer or me.

The state uses this strategy to deprive imprisoned human rights defendants of their rights to be informed of the charges against them and their rights under the Egyptian constitution and other international legal provisions.  

On 5 March 2023, I was convicted of all the charges and sentenced to five years in prison and another five years of supervised parole in which I would spend every night at police station.

The arrest of human rights defenders in Egypt is illustrative of a system built to crackdown on critical voices in the country.

The CIVICUS monitor rates Egypt as closed. 

Call for my release by going to the TAKE ACTION section below.