Egyptian authorities are holding four siblings of an Egyptian-British dissident in detention while her cousin has been forcibly disappeared since May, according to a Berlin-based human rights organization.
The Law and Democracy Support Foundation stated Sunday that the actions directly target the family of activist Mona El-Shazly over her social media posts criticizing the Egyptian government, military, and President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
The brothers Hassan and Eid El-Shazly were arrested from their family home in Alexandria in May and appeared five days later before the Supreme State Security Prosecution under Case No. 4489 of 2026.
The brothers were previously held in pretrial detention for three years between August 2020 and March 2023. Security forces later arrested two sisters, Eman El-Shazly on Aug. 17 and Shaimaa El-Shazly on Aug. 18, according to the foundation’s statement.
Prosecutors ordered both sisters held for 15 days pending investigation on charges of spreading false news and promoting ideas of a terrorist group through social media.
Meanwhile, their cousin Saber Mohamed Eid Hassan El-Shazly has remained disappeared since his arrest on May 19.
The rights group characterized the arrests as “transnational repression” and “punishment by proxy,” calling on Egyptian authorities to immediately release the family members, reveal Saber’s location, and open an independent investigation into the detentions.
Security forces allegedly demanded that Eman tell her sister to cease publishing critical content prior to her arrest.
The group also urged British authorities to provide consular protection to Eman El-Shazly as a British citizen, demand her release, and investigate online threats sent to Mona El-Shazly in the United Kingdom.
To date, Egyptian officials have not issued a public response regarding the accusations or the cousin’s status.
The El-Shazly family’s ordeal coincides with broader concerns raised by rights groups.
In November, 19 Egyptian and international human rights organizations expressed concern over escalating “punishment by proxy” and the targeting of relatives of overseas activists and journalists through raids, arrests, and forced disappearances.
In response to past human rights criticisms, including 343 recommendations presented during the UN Universal Periodic Review in February, Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty stated that Egypt has intensified its efforts over the past five years to implement recommendations and achieved notable progress across all levels.
