Thread by @JimmyGymShoes

@EgyptEmbassyUSA @MotazZahran Hoda Abdelmoniem has been arbitrarily detained for over three years, related to her human rights work. On November 1, 2018, National Security Agency forces broke into her house in Cairo, at 1:30 am, ransacked it, and took her away blindfolded. She

was disappeared for three weeks after her arrest until she was brought to the Supreme State Security Prosecution for investigation. After she spent 35 months in pre-trial detention, she was charged with joining, financing, and supporting a “terrorist group” and disseminating

news on social media accusing the security forces of human rights violations through a Facebook page in order to incite violence against state institutions. These charges are linked to her work with the Egyptian Coordination for Rights and Freedoms, which documents enforced

disappearances, the use of the death penalty, and provides legal aid to victims of human rights violations. Hoda Abdelmoniem’s right to adequate defense, at trial, has been violated, as she is banned from meeting with her lawyer except in court.

During a court hearing held on

October 11, 2021, Hoda Abdelmoniem told the judges that the prison doctor said she required a cardiac catheterization and requested her release on medical grounds. She reported also being told by the prison doctor that transfers to external hospitals were suspended because of

Covid-19. Amnesty International is aware of the transfer of other prisoners to external hospitals since the Covid-19 outbreak, including Hoda Abdelmoniem’s brief transfer on November 30, 2020, for treatment for suspected kidney failure. In addition to her heart condition, she has

kidney disease, arterial thrombosis, and high blood pressure. Officials at the al-Qanater Prison for women, where she is held, have denied any prison visits or other contact with her family since her detention on November 1, 2018. Her relatives also continue to be denied access

to her medical records, raising their anguish about her health. The judges presiding over her trial dismissed requests to ensure her access to adequate health care and family visits.

Hoda Abdelmoniem is a prisoner of conscience, jailed solely because of her human rights work.

She should be immediately & unconditionally released & all charges against her should be dropped. In the meantime, she should be provided with access to her family and lawyers and have all needed health care, including outside of prison and be provided with her medical records.

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