Egyptian Activist Alaa Abdel Fattah Detained

Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah was reportedly detained this morning while leaving probation in Dokki police station.

Lawyers informed his family that he was taken to the State Security prosecution, though there is still no information on the accusations or the case.

“Five years in prison weren’t enough. Five years of him spending 12 hours a day in isolation in a police station aren’t enough. They had to rearrest him again. He has to go through this again,” Mona Seif, Abd El Fattah’s sister, wrote on Twitter.

Five years in prison weren't enough
Five years of him spending 12hrs a day in isolation in a police station aren't enough
They had to re arrest him again
He has to go through this again!! #FreeAlaa وكفاية بقى

— Mona Seif (@Monasosh) September 29, 2019

Last week, Egyptian human rights lawyer and political activist Mahienour El-Masry was also reportedly arrested outside of the State Prosecution Office in Cairo. Her place of detention remains unknown.

Earlier this year in March, Abdel Fattah was released from prison after spending five years behind bars.

Throughout his lifetime, Abdel Fattah has been arrested or investigated by Egyptian authorities on several occasions due to his political activism.

On 7 May 2006, he spent 45 days in detention for demonstrating for an independent judiciary under the rule of President Hosni Mubarak.

Later on 30 October 2011, he was arrested for inciting violence at the 9 October Maspero clashes and released in December.

In 2015, he received a five years sentence for allegedly organising a political protest without requesting authorization

He is known for co-founding along with his wife Manal Hassan, the Egyptian blog aggregator Manalaa and Omraneya, which won the Special Reporters Without Borders Award in Deutsche Welle’s Best of Blogs competition.