TAKE ACTION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

UNJUSTLY JAILED STUDENT RISKS LIFE IN PRISON

Egypt UA 110.23

Egyptian student, Oqba Hashad, has endured nearly seven years in arbitrary detention as punishment for his brother’s human rights activism. In April 2025, the Supreme State Security Prosecution (SSSP) referred him to trial on bogus terrorism-related charges. If convicted, he could be imprisoned for the rest of his life. In November 2025 after years of sustained supporter mobilization, Egyptian authorities finally allowed him to receive a replacement for his broken prosthetic leg after denying him one for over three years. His detention is solely linked to his brother’s human rights activism.

Call on the Egyptian authorities to release Oqba Hashad - send your message to Motaz Zahran, Egyptian Ambassador to the United States, using our email writing tool.

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Ambassador to the United States

Motaz

Mounir Zahran

Egypt

Dear Counselor,

I am concerned about the ongoing arbitrarily detention of 29-year-old Egyptian student, Oqba Hashad. He has been held in unlawful pretrial detention since May 20, 2019. Far exceeding the two-year limit set under Egyptian law. On February 20, 2024, a judge ordered Oqba Hashad’s release after his pretrial detention exceeded the legal limit. Instead of releasing him, security forces forcibly disappeared him for 10 days and then opened investigations against him in a new case on similar bogus charges.

In April 2025, Oqba Hashad was referred to trial along with 75 others on bogus terrorism related charges. He could face life imprisonment if convicted. Amnesty International considers the charges against Oqba Hashad to be unfounded; the prosecution did not present any evidence of his involvement in actions that could constitute criminal conduct. The organization considers that he is being punished for his brother’s, Amr Hashad’s, activism.

Since his arrest, Oqba Hashad was subjected to a litany of human rights violations including the denial of medical care. He was left without a prosthetic leg from August 2022 until November 2025 when the prison administration finally provided him with a functional prosthetic leg. However, authorities continue to obstruct the delivery of essential medicine.

I urge you to ensure that Oqba Hashad is immediately and unconditionally released and all charges against him dropped as he is detained solely as a punishment for his brother’s activism. Pending his release, he must have regular access to his family, lawyers, and adequate healthcare, and be held in conditions that comply with international standards for the treatment of prisoners.

Yours sincerely,

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