Egyptian-Palestinian political activist Ramy Shaath, detained in Egypt for more than two years, is on a plane to Paris but was forced to give up his Egyptian nationality to secure his release, his family announced on Saturday. “As we write these lines, Ramy is on his way to Paris,” his family wrote in a statement, saying they were “relieved and delighted” by this announcement but regretting that Cairo “forced him to renounce his citizenship. Egyptian as a precondition for his release ”.
Ramy Shaath was released “on the evening of (Thursday) January 6, after more than 900 days of arbitrary detention,” according to his family. The Egyptian authorities then handed him over to a representative of the Palestinian Authority at Cairo airport, from where he boarded a plane to Amman. He should arrive in Paris in the afternoon.
The 48-year-old man, a figure of the Egyptian revolution of 2011 and the coordinator in Egypt of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement (BDS, advocating the boycott of Israel in the fight against the occupation of the Palestinian Territories), had been detained since July 2019 for wanting to foment “unrest against the State”.
“Egypt has always been and always will be its homeland”
“While we are happy that the Egyptian authorities have heard our call for freedom, we regret that they forced him to renounce his Egyptian citizenship as a precondition for his release” after “two and a half years of unjust detention in inhuman conditions, ”the family protested.
“No one should have to choose between their freedom and their citizenship. Ramy was born Egyptian, raised as an Egyptian and Egypt has always been and always will be his homeland, ”she said. “No forced renunciation of citizenship taken under duress will ever change that. “
An Egyptian legal source told AFP his release on Monday evening, but it took several days to materialize. The French Foreign Ministry had communicated Tuesday on his “imminent release”. His French wife, Céline Lebrun, had been deported to Paris at the time of her arrest.
60,000 prisoners of conscience in Egypt
In December, five human rights organizations questioned French President Emmanuel Macron on the fate of this activist, son of Palestinian political leader Nabil Shaath. A year earlier, during a visit to Paris by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on December 7, 2020, Mr. Macron said he had spoken to him about “individual cases”, including that of Ramy Shaath.
Egypt has more than 60,000 prisoners of conscience, according to NGOs. The United States believes that the country violates human rights in all areas and has consequently frozen 10% of its aid. “Ramy’s release is a living testament to the power of the collective organization to end serious injustices such as those against which Ramy fought throughout his life,” commented the family, who thanked them. “Hundreds of legislators, elected officials and government representatives” who defended it, especially in France, Europe and the United States.
Relatives of the activist said “remain in solidarity with all those who continue to be unjustly detained” in Egypt. “We pray for the day when they too will be reunited with their loved ones again. Another Egyptian human rights activist, researcher Patrick Zaki, was released in December after 22 months in detention but still faces up to five years in prison for “false information” over an article denouncing discrimination against them. Christians.