Over 30,000 petitions urge Egypt to immediate release brother of human right activist – JURIST
More than 30,000 petition signatories demanded the immediate release of 27‐year‐old Egyptian student Oqba Hashad, Amnesty International reported Thursday. According to the group, Oqba Hashad was detained for nearly six years, solely because of his brother’s human rights activism.
The group stated that Oqba Hashad was arrested on 20 May 2019 during a raid on his dormitory at the University of Sadat City by National Security Agency agents. In the months that followed, he endured enforced disappearance, torture, including beatings and electric shocks, and severe denial of essential healthcare.
Despite a judicial order on 20 February 2024 mandating Oqba Hashad’s release after his detention exceeded the legally prescribed two-year limit, authorities evaded compliance by filing a new terrorism-related charges.
“Oqba Hashad has been the victim of a cruel and blatant miscarriage of justice,” stated Souleimene Benghazi, Amnesty International’s Egypt Campaigner, “the fact that Oqba Hashad was charged with fresh bogus charges instead of being released after the pre-trial detention limit is outrageous. This blatant manipulation of the legal system highlights the authorities’ contempt for international law.”
Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights protects the right to liberty and security of person. This right includes the right to be brought promptly before a judge and to take proceedings for release from unlawful or arbitrary detention.
A further aggravating factor in Oqba Hashad’s plight is the neglect of his medical needs. Having lost his right leg in childhood, he has long relied on a prosthetic device to move unassisted. However, after his original prosthetic broke in August 2022, procedures to provide him with a properly sized replacement commenced only in February 2025, more than a year after his family’s request. The delay has left him suffering from severe back pain and diminished mobility, compounding the physical and mental toll of his detention.
Amnesty International stated that Oqba Hashad’s detention stems solely from his familial connection to Amr Hashad, a human rights activist convicted on charges widely viewed as politically motivated. For this reason, the group launched the “Write for Rights” campaign, urging his release. Now exiled in Türkiye, Amr Hashad was reportedly jailed between 2014 and 2019 over his alleged involvement in an attempt to overthrow the government.
Hashad’s case is emblematic of a broader pattern of repression in Egypt. According to Amnesty International, authorities have arrested hundreds of critics, with enforced disappearances and prolonged pretrial detentions becoming commonplace. In June 2024, 28 rights organizations urged Egypt to stop its targeting and retaliation against human rights lawyers. In a 2024 report sent to the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances, the Committee for Justice further detailed the systematic enforced disappearance that took place during the 2023 Egyptian presidential election.
