Dozens of individuals held on charges related to pro-Palestine activism have been listed for release, rights lawyers confirmed Tuesday. A number have already been freed, amid increasing restrictions on transparency from Egyptian authorities.
The Public Prosecution announced Monday, Oct. 6, that 38 pretrial detainees are to be released in cases overseen by the Supreme State Security Prosecution/SSSP, a judicial body that handles politically sensitive and national security-related cases. The statement described the move as part of an ongoing directive by the public prosecutor to routinely assess the legal status of individuals in pretrial detention.
However, human rights lawyer Hoda Abdelwahab told Al Manassa that the released individuals include defendants accused of participating in demonstrations or initiatives expressing solidarity with Gaza.
Abdelwahab noted that newly implemented instructions bar defense attorneys from publicizing the names of released detainees or accessing full lists of those freed.
“We still don’t know the rationale behind the ban,” Abdelwahab said. “Even as lawyers, we are denied access to complete names. Families are often the ones informing us when their loved ones return home.”
“This has made our work significantly more difficult,” she said. “It also denies the public real-time information about who has been released and under what circumstances,” Abdelwahab added.
She explained to Al Manassa that several of the released individuals had been held in Case No. 2468 of 2023—widely referred to in the media as the “Palestine Solidarity” case—and Case No. 508 of 2023, which concerns riots following a football match.
Her account was corroborated by prominent rights lawyer Khaled Ali, who posted on Facebook that detainee Ali Adel Ali, arrested during a Palestine solidarity protest, had been released. “His father had gone to the prison to visit him, only to learn from officials that his son had already been freed,” Ali wrote.
The “Palestine Solidarity” detentions are part of a broader crackdown on pro-Palestine expression in Egypt. Since the onset of Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza in October 2023, Egyptian security forces have arrested scores of people accused of demonstrating support for the Palestinian cause.
According to a June 2025 report by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, at least 186 individuals were arrested in 16 separate cases investigated by the SSSP. Many were charged over peaceful activities such as staging protests, displaying solidarity banners, or participating in humanitarian relief campaigns.
Despite Egypt’s official discourse backing Palestinian rights, the government has faced growing criticism for continuing to detain citizens engaged in peaceful solidarity actions.
In August, leading human rights organizations and lawyers reiterated calls for the immediate release of these detainees. They also revealed that attempts to secure their freedom through the state-led National Dialogue forum had yielded no tangible results.
