CEU student arbitrarily detained by Egyptian security forces
Ahmed Samir Abdelhay Ali (29) is a Master’s student in Sociology and Social Anthropology at the Central European University (CEU) in Vienna. On February 1st 2021, he was detained by the Egyptian Security Forces after he was called into the Fifth Settlement Section Police Headquarters.
For five days, he was held without access to lawyers or his family. The police officially denied Ahmed was in custody and no contact was allowed.
On Feb 6th 2021, the State Security Prosecutor formally charged Ahmed with joining a terrorist organization, deliberately spreading false news and data, and use of a private account on the Internet to spread false news or data.
The prosecution has remanded him to pretrial detention in Case 65 of 2021. This detention has already been extended once without legal representation .
No details about the accusations have been specified. The charges are baseless.
Ahmed testified during the investigation with the SSSP (Supreme State Security Prosecution) that he was physically assaulted during interrogations with National Security Police. He alleged that he was severely beaten on his body and slapped on his face.
His academic work generally addresses women’s rights in Egypt with a focus on the history of reproductive rights. His main concern was protecting women’s reproductive rights and their access to legal and safe treatments in order to preserve their lives.
Ahmed’s case is the latest in a series of international students and researchers harassed, tortured, and falsely imprisoned by Egyptian authorities on trumped-up charges, including Patrick George Zaki, Walid al-Shobaky and Giulio Regeni.
Amnesty Austria has issued a petition asking for his immediate release.
So far, there were several other statements issued asking for his release, such as by Amnesty International, deeming him a Prisoner of Conscience, a shared statement from Egyptian Human Rights organisation And several others, Central European University, Amnesty MENA, Council for European Students, Egyptian Front for Human Rights, European Association of Social Anthropologists, American Anthropological Association, Forced Disappearance by the FORSEA, Europa Verdi, Austrian National Student Union, and AFTE have called for his release.
The case is still going on, with Ahmed’s family and friends hoping for his release.
4 Comments
The story is unbelievable. Egyptian police forces do not arrest people without reason, this would hurt the tourist segment of the economy. There is more to the story, someone should find out the truth. Student from CEU often caused chaos.
CEU is leftist organization that promotes the disintegration of western society and of non-Left leaning societies that do not tolerate liberal ideology such as killing unborn children aka abortion. CEU and all persons who support abortion should constantly be harassed and made miserable. Congrats Egypt on persecuting Leftist garbage.
John Maynard, the only garbage here is your disgusting comment. And the previous one too.
Giulio Regeni was a wonderful human being, a brilliant young man, a European flower in the prime of his life. He was not simply detained in a totally illegal way. He was tortured for several days in the building where Egypt’s minister of Interiors work. The torture chamber stands steps away from the minister’s office. Giulio was tortured to death. His family, Italy, the civilised world, are expecting Justice. Not the fabricated justice Al Sisi has in mind by finding a few scapegoats among his secret agents. Real Justice. Write it please that Al Sisi’s regime is a criminal regime!
Giulio’s legacy remains alive. Giulio vive nei nostri cuori. He lives on in our hearts, he and his love for freedom.
Giulio forever.