A father of five has been detained in Egypt for more than two years over posts he made in a Facebook group for Christian to Islam converts, and has now declared a hunger strike over the injustice he says he has experienced.
Abdulbaki Said Abd, from Yemen, was a member of a Christian Facebook group that discussed Islamic theology and apologetics. According to ADF InternationalIn 2021, Abdo received death threats in Yemen after converting to Christianity and was arrested over a Facebook post while living as a UNHCR-registered refugee in Egypt.
In an emotional letter to his family on 7 August, Abdo explained his decision to launch a strike in protest against his two and a half years of detention without trial. His health is reportedly rapidly deteriorating. Religious freedom groups, including ADF International, are now calling for his immediate release.
“My husband, Abdelbaki Said, has been detained in an Egyptian prison since December 2021 without any specific charges against him, simply because he spoke about his religious beliefs on social media,” Abdo’s wife said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.
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In the letter, translated from Arabic and reviewed by Fox News Digital, Abdo vowed to strike in stages until completion, including refusing medical attention and eventually food, as his wife described it.
“My husband has completed two years and eight months of pre-trial detention, which is in violation of Egyptian law,” she continued. “He suffers from heart, liver and kidney diseases and his health is deteriorating. He began his medication strike two weeks ago and plans to gradually escalate it into a full hunger strike over the next month in protest at his unjust and arbitrary detention.”
Abdulbaki Abd. (ADF International)
“I refuse treatment from the prison’s medical director,” Abdo wrote, “and I have requested him to convey my intention to do so to the prison administration.”
“I intend to gradually escalate the strike and go on strike completely in the coming weeks,” he continued. “The reason for the strike is that they arrested me without legal justification or convicted me for violating the law and did not release me during my detention, which ended eight months ago.”
“We all love you, Dad,” Abdo concluded his letter to his family.
Egyptian authorities reportedly arrested Abdo and another Christian man named Nour Girgis after discovering their connections to a Facebook page, and now authorities are “falsely alleging that they were involved in terrorist activities,” according to ADF International.
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Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and founder of the AHA Foundation, said in a statement to Fox News Digital that the idea that an ordinary person could be locked in a tiny cell for years simply for expressing their beliefs in a private Facebook forum was “grotesque.”
“The Egyptian authorities’ imprisonment of Yemeni refugee Abdelbaki Said Abd is a surreal example of blasphemy censorship policies in action,” she said. “It is also illegal. The Egyptian authorities have violated the human rights of this father and husband and must immediately release him to his family.”
Ali is a refugee from Somalia who was subjected to female genital mutilation in the Muslim community. A former well-known atheist, Ali announced in November that she was converting to Christianity. She faces constant death threats due to her outspoken criticism of the Muslim Brotherhood.
“Whether his Christian faith – what he personally thinks, prays and speaks – is offensive to Islamic extremists is of no concern to civilized people anywhere,” she said.
“The world should take note of the Egyptian government’s actions,” she added. “This is the logical consequence of a trend that allows authorities to brutalize innocent people for free expression on social media. From China to Pakistan, Russia to Syria, Britain to Egypt, freedom of speech must be urgently protected from a modern-day resurgence of Stalinism.”
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Kelsey Zorzi, director of global religious freedom advocacy at ADF International, said no one should be jailed for expressing their Christian faith on social media.
“This heartbreaking cry for help from Abdelbaki Said Abdo must not be ignored. It is time for the Egyptian authorities to release him and Nour Girgis from their unjust and illegal detention,” she said. “We are taking all measures to ensure that they are both released and able to return to their families.”
She said the detention was a “gross human rights violation” by Egyptian authorities and showed how Egyptian law was being misused to punish people who hold minority views and beliefs, such as Christianity.
“Governments around the world are failing to uphold proper legal standards for freedom of religion and speech, allowing the rampant criminalization of social media posts and religious practices to continue,” she added. “Whether in the Middle East, Europe or elsewhere, we urgently need to protect fundamental human rights and improve the ability of individuals to freely hold and express their beliefs.”
The two men have been transferred to different detention centres in Egypt and their criminal cases have been repeatedly postponed, although their families and lawyers have been allowed occasional visits, according to ADF International.
According to ADF International, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief have received information on behalf of Guirgis and Abdo, who both groups believe have been deprived of their rights to religious freedom and a fair trial under international law.
Republican Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs and Global Human Rights Subcommittee and co-chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Caucus, called Abdo’s detention “a gross and bizarre violation of his human rights.”
“News of his hunger strike makes his release more urgent than ever,” he told Fox News Digital. “I call on the government to release Mr. Abdo to a safe location and I also call on UNHCR to protect and prioritise vulnerable or at-risk applicants, including Christian converts from Islam and those accused of blasphemy.”
Click here to get the FOX News app
Kendall Teets is a writer for Fox News Digital.
Christian father imprisoned in Egypt over Facebook comments declares hunger strike
A father of five has been detained in Egypt for more than two years over posts he made in a Facebook group for Christian to Islam converts, and has now declared a hunger strike over the injustice he says he has experienced.
Abdulbaki Said Abd, from Yemen, was a member of a Christian Facebook group that discussed Islamic theology and apologetics. According to ADF InternationalIn 2021, Abdo received death threats in Yemen after converting to Christianity and was arrested over a Facebook post while living as a UNHCR-registered refugee in Egypt.
In an emotional letter to his family on 7 August, Abdo explained his decision to launch a strike in protest against his two and a half years of detention without trial. His health is reportedly rapidly deteriorating. Religious freedom groups, including ADF International, are now calling for his immediate release.
“My husband, Abdelbaki Said, has been detained in an Egyptian prison since December 2021 without any specific charges against him, simply because he spoke about his religious beliefs on social media,” Abdo’s wife said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.
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In the letter, translated from Arabic and reviewed by Fox News Digital, Abdo vowed to strike in stages until completion, including refusing medical attention and eventually food, as his wife described it.
“My husband has completed two years and eight months of pre-trial detention, which is in violation of Egyptian law,” she continued. “He suffers from heart, liver and kidney diseases and his health is deteriorating. He began his medication strike two weeks ago and plans to gradually escalate it into a full hunger strike over the next month in protest at his unjust and arbitrary detention.”
Abdulbaki Abd. (ADF International)
“I refuse treatment from the prison’s medical director,” Abdo wrote, “and I have requested him to convey my intention to do so to the prison administration.”
“I intend to gradually escalate the strike and go on strike completely in the coming weeks,” he continued. “The reason for the strike is that they arrested me without legal justification or convicted me for violating the law and did not release me during my detention, which ended eight months ago.”
“We all love you, Dad,” Abdo concluded his letter to his family.
Egyptian authorities reportedly arrested Abdo and another Christian man named Nour Girgis after discovering their connections to a Facebook page, and now authorities are “falsely alleging that they were involved in terrorist activities,” according to ADF International.
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Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and founder of the AHA Foundation, said in a statement to Fox News Digital that the idea that an ordinary person could be locked in a tiny cell for years simply for expressing their beliefs in a private Facebook forum was “grotesque.”
“The Egyptian authorities’ imprisonment of Yemeni refugee Abdelbaki Said Abd is a surreal example of blasphemy censorship policies in action,” she said. “It is also illegal. The Egyptian authorities have violated the human rights of this father and husband and must immediately release him to his family.”
Ali is a refugee from Somalia who was subjected to female genital mutilation in the Muslim community. A former well-known atheist, Ali announced in November that she was converting to Christianity. She faces constant death threats due to her outspoken criticism of the Muslim Brotherhood.
“Whether his Christian faith – what he personally thinks, prays and speaks – is offensive to Islamic extremists is of no concern to civilized people anywhere,” she said.
“The world should take note of the Egyptian government’s actions,” she added. “This is the logical consequence of a trend that allows authorities to brutalize innocent people for free expression on social media. From China to Pakistan, Russia to Syria, Britain to Egypt, freedom of speech must be urgently protected from a modern-day resurgence of Stalinism.”
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Kelsey Zorzi, director of global religious freedom advocacy at ADF International, said no one should be jailed for expressing their Christian faith on social media.
“This heartbreaking cry for help from Abdelbaki Said Abdo must not be ignored. It is time for the Egyptian authorities to release him and Nour Girgis from their unjust and illegal detention,” she said. “We are taking all measures to ensure that they are both released and able to return to their families.”
She said the detention was a “gross human rights violation” by Egyptian authorities and showed how Egyptian law was being misused to punish people who hold minority views and beliefs, such as Christianity.
“Governments around the world are failing to uphold proper legal standards for freedom of religion and speech, allowing the rampant criminalization of social media posts and religious practices to continue,” she added. “Whether in the Middle East, Europe or elsewhere, we urgently need to protect fundamental human rights and improve the ability of individuals to freely hold and express their beliefs.”
The two men have been transferred to different detention centres in Egypt and their criminal cases have been repeatedly postponed, although their families and lawyers have been allowed occasional visits, according to ADF International.
According to ADF International, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief have received information on behalf of Guirgis and Abdo, who both groups believe have been deprived of their rights to religious freedom and a fair trial under international law.
Republican Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs and Global Human Rights Subcommittee and co-chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Caucus, called Abdo’s detention “a gross and bizarre violation of his human rights.”
“News of his hunger strike makes his release more urgent than ever,” he told Fox News Digital. “I call on the government to release Mr. Abdo to a safe location and I also call on UNHCR to protect and prioritise vulnerable or at-risk applicants, including Christian converts from Islam and those accused of blasphemy.”
Click here to get the FOX News app
Kendall Teets is a writer for Fox News Digital.
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