More than 30,000 individuals have signed a petition demanding the immediate release of Oqba Hashad, a 27-year-old Egyptian student, Amnesty International announced this Thursday. Detained for nearly six years, Hashad’s arrest and subsequent suffering appear to stem solely from his brother’s activities as a human rights activist, underlining concerns of political repression in Egypt.
According to reports from Amnesty, Oqba Hashad was arrested on 20 May 2019 during a raid conducted by the National Security Agency at his dormitory in the University of Sadat City. Since then, Hashad has reportedly endured enforced disappearance, torture – including beatings and electric shocks – and has been denied essential healthcare.
A pivotal development in Hashad’s case occurred on February 2024 when he was ordered to be released due to his detention exceeding the legally prescribed two-year limit. However, Egyptian authorities circumvented this by introducing new terrorism-related charges, prompting criticism of legal system exploitation. Amnesty International’s Egypt Campaigner, Souleimene Benghazi, condemned this maneuver as a “cruel and blatant miscarriage of justice” and an “outrageous” manipulation of the legal process, showcasing disregard for international law.
Further complicating Hashad’s situation is the lack of adequate medical care. He requires a prosthetic device for mobility, following the loss of his right leg in childhood. The delay in receiving a properly fitted replacement for his broken prosthetic device, which only began in February 2025 — more than a year after it was requested — has exacerbated his physical and mental suffering.
Amnesty International asserts that the real reason behind Hashad’s detention is his familial link to Amr Hashad, a human rights activist who faced politically motivated charges and is now exiled in Türkiye. This has sparked the organization’s “Write for Rights” campaign to advocate for Oqba Hashad’s release. Amr Hashad was previously jailed from 2014 to 2019 over alleged involvement in attempts to overthrow the government.
Oqba Hashad’s circumstances highlight a broader pattern of repression within Egypt, as noted by Amnesty International. The nation’s authorities have been criticized for arresting hundreds of critics, with enforced disappearances and prolonged pretrial detentions becoming the norm. Last year, 28 rights organizations called for an end to targeting human rights lawyers, while reports to the UN detailed systematic enforced disappearances during the 2023 Egyptian presidential election.
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