Almost exactly a year after his arrest in 2018, labour lawyer Haitham Mohamedain has been detained again after being wrongfully accused of violating his probation terms after release from prison in October. On 13 May, he was summoned to the police station in Saf, south of Cairo, and detained without access to a lawyer, before being brought before prosecutors and remanded in custody for 15 days on charges of “aiding a terrorist group in achieving its goals”. Mostafa Maher, a former political activist was also detained separately, prompting fears of a fresh crackdown on the regime’s critics.

Amnesty International condmened the latest detentions in a statement:

Amnesty International is calling on the Egyptian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Mostafa Maher and Haytham Mohamdeen as their detention is arbitrary, and the charge against them is overly vague and has no credible basis. They appear to have been targeted solely because of their history of peaceful activism. The authorities also violated their fair trial rights during arrest, detention and questioning.

What you can do:

• Write to the Egyptian embassy in your country demanding the immediate release of Haitham and all other political prisoners
• Go here for more resources and background