Egypt arrests family members of American activist Mohamed Soltan

Feb 16, 2021

Egyptian safety forces have raided the properties of Egyptian-American activist Mohamed Soltan’s family members and arrested two of his cousins in what his US-based advocacy group Freedom Initiative described as a “marketing campaign of retaliatory aggression.” 

In June, Soltan filed a federal lawsuit towards a former Egyptian prime minister, Hazem el-Beblawi, accusing Beblawi of orchestrating Soltan’s torture in the course of the almost two years Soltan was held as a political prisoner in Cairo. Days after the lawsuit was filed, Egypt arrested 5 of Sultan’s cousins in what he mentioned was an try at pressuring him into dropping the go well with. In November, they have been quickly launched in what was seen as a attainable goodwill gesture to the incoming Biden administration. 

Two of Soltan’s apolitical cousins, Moustafa Soltan and Khairi Soltan, are actually being held in a state safety jail, the Freedom Initiative mentioned in a press release, noting that the sample of intimidation and harassment isn’t restricted to Soltan’s family members. 

Most just lately, Egypt arrested a number of family members of Aly Madhy, an activist granted asylum in america, after he referred to as for celebrations to mark the tenth anniversary of Egypt’s January 25 Revolution of 2011. 

Eric Lewis, Soltan’s lawyer, mentioned in a press release that the most recent arrests recommend Egypt is making an attempt to intimidate his consumer into silence. 

“Such ways haven’t any place within the worldwide neighborhood. Egypt can’t search the advantages of membership in that neighborhood whereas denigrating human rights and behaving with impunity and lawlessness,” Lewis mentioned. 

President Joe Biden has pledged to rethink the US relationship with Egypt, a rustic that’s the recipient of roughly $1.3 billion in US navy help per 12 months. In a July tweet, he warned Cairo it was “unacceptable” to threaten Soltan’s household and people of different exiled activists.

State Division spokesperson Ned Value informed reporters that the administration was wanting into stories that Soltan’s members of the family had been detained. 

“We’ve and we proceed to have interaction the Egyptian authorities on human rights considerations, and we take critically all allegations of arbitrary arrest,” Value mentioned. “We are going to deliver our values with us into each relationship that now we have throughout the globe, that features with our shut safety companions. That features with Egypt.” 

Soltan’s father, Salah Soltan, additionally stays in detention. He’s serving a life sentence for his function in Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood. He was moved from his jail cell to an unknown location in June and hasn’t been heard from since.