Egypt has launched a national political dialogue, which authorities state aims to devise plans for the country’s future. The dialogue, announced by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in April 2022, seeks to produce political, economic, and social reform recommendations. The national dialogue also heavily focuses on human rights issues to address criticisms aimed at Egypt’s poor track record in this field. It includes human rights committees, including a presidential amnesty committee that reviews thousands of requests for the release of some prisoners under el-Sisi’s rule.
In a recorded message to the opening session of the national dialogue, el-Sisi stated, “I urge you to exert great effort to make the experience of the national dialogue a success,” adding that he closely followed the preparations and that “difference in opinion does not spoil the dialogue’s essence.”
Although some view the national dialogue as a significant opportunity to open up the public sphere and release prisoners of conscience, on the other hand, several political activists, human rights defenders, and journalists are being arrested. Furthermore, family members of individuals with influence abroad are being detained, in what appears to be a preemptive strike ahead of the upcoming presidential elections, sending a message that the Egyptian regime will not tolerate any criticism of these elections.
Gamal Abdel Hamid Ziada is the father of the journalist and human rights defender Ahmed Gamal Ziada, as well as the editor-in-chief of the independent platform “Zawia3“. The platform recently emerged with the goal of creating a space for investigative and analytical journalism in Egypt, focusing the spotlight on human rights and political issues. The platform was also prepared to provide in-depth and on-the-ground coverage of the presidential elections.
On August 22, 2023, security forces detained Gamal Abdel Hamid Ziada after his son posted topics related to human rights, the seriousness of the national dialogue, and concerns about the upcoming presidential elections. Security forces verified Gamal Ziada’s national identification card and held him in an undisclosed location. National security officers questioned him about his son Ahmed Gamal Ziada, his involvement with human rights organizations, and his journalistic activities. His ID card and mobile phone were confiscated. The following day, Ziada appeared before the State Security Prosecution, accused of disseminating false news, misusing social media, and affiliating with a subversive group. Despite Gamal Ziada’s limited activity on social media, he manages a Facebook account for promotional purposes related to his clothing workshop. Although he hadn’t engaged in any political activities, he was detained under case number 2064/2023, with a 15-day remand pending investigation, and he was transferred to Cairo’s Tenth of Ramadan Prison.
Ahmed Gamal Ziada, a 34-year-old researcher and human rights advocate, was previously arrested in 2013 and 2019. The first arrest pertained to his journalistic work, while the second was linked to a report he published about prisons and detainees with the Arab Network for Human Rights Information. He has collaborated with platforms like “Mada Masr,” “Raseef 22,” “Daraj,” and “Middle East Eye.” He has also worked as a human rights researcher with organizations such as the Arab Network for Human Rights Information, the Nadeem Center for Victims of Violence and Torture, and the Adalah Center for Rights and Freedoms. In December 2019, Ziada traveled to Belgium for three months to participate in a fellowship program with “EuroMed Rights,” advocating for human rights and press freedom, and engaging with civil society organizations and human rights institutions. At Cairo International Airport on his way to Belgium, he was detained and interrogated by national security officers, his belongings were confiscated, and he narrowly escaped a fate similar to what he faced in January 2019. Fortunately, his belongings were returned to him after nearly 90 minutes, and he was released. He decided to stay longer in Belgium to continue his academic studies and earned a Master’s degree in Political Science and International Relations from the Free University of Brussels.
International Calls for the Release of Gamal Ziada
Numerous organizations have called for the release of the father of Ahmed Gamal Ziada, considering his detention as a form of reprisal and revenge against his son’s work. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) stated in a French statement, “Not only is Gamal Ziada innocent, but his son Ahmed Ziada is also innocent. This arrest of a family member of an exile journalist is an unprecedented act of cruelty that aims to threaten all Egyptian journalists wherever they are in the world.” The organization further stated, “This cannot continue: RSF demands the immediate release of the father of the founder of the independent investigative media outlet ‘Zawia3’.”
Human Rights Watch said in a statement, “On August 22, Egyptian security forces forcibly disappeared the father of Ahmed Gamal Ziada, a former detained journalist now living abroad. Egyptian authorities have increasingly targeted family members of exiled dissidents in recent years as a form of punishment.” Amnesty International also stated that “the arrest of the journalist and human rights defender Ahmed Ziada’s father, at the hands of plainclothes security forces in Nahiya Al-Balad, Giza, is an arbitrary act to silence his son and should be released now!”
In a related context, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) demanded in a statement on its website the immediate and unconditional release of Gamal Ziada, stating, “Egyptian authorities must immediately release Gamal Abdel Hamid Ziada and drop all charges against him.” Sherif Mansour, the Middle East and North Africa Coordinator at CPJ in Washington, D.C., said, “The Egyptian authorities’ arrest of journalist Ahmed Gamal Ziada’s father is an extremely concerning form of reprisal against a journalist. Authorities must release Gamal immediately and unconditionally. Abdel Hamid Ziada’s charges should be dropped, and the harassment of journalists’ family members must cease.” The CPJ emailed the Egyptian Ministry of Interior for comment but received no response.
EuroMed Rights (a network representing 68 human rights organizations, institutions, and individuals in 30 countries across the Mediterranean region) stated, “While authorities feign political openness by releasing some human rights defenders, they continue to harass others by arresting family members. Ahmed is a journalist, human rights defender, and former prisoner exiled in Belgium. His father must be released!”
At the local level, a significant number of activists, journalists, and politicians on social media reacted, considering the ongoing events as an injustice that cannot be overlooked. Additionally, seven human rights organizations, including the Cairo Center for Human Rights Studies, the Egyptian Front for Human Rights, the Nadeem Center, the Freedom Initiative, the Justice Committee, the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, and the Sinai Foundation for Human Rights, issued a collective statement urging his immediate release and a halt to the harassment of family members of journalists and opposition human rights activists residing abroad. These organizations believe that this incident reflects a recurring approach by the Egyptian authorities to intimidate their opponents through the arbitrary detention of their family members, demonstrating the absence of any genuine intention by Egyptian authorities to improve the human rights situation in Egypt, release all political prisoners, and highlighting the ineffectiveness of the national dialogue initiated in May of the past year. The signing organizations also hold the Egyptian authorities fully responsible for the health and safety of Gamal Ziada, who suffers from several medical conditions, including high blood pressure and thyroid disorders, especially in light of human rights reports confirming the deteriorating conditions of detention in Egyptian prisons.
The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) strongly condemned the harassment of journalist Ahmed Gamal Ziada’s family and the arrest of his father on Tuesday, August 22. Gamal Ziada had previously spent over a year and a half in pretrial detention on charges that were later acquitted, while the real issue was his journalistic work and documenting events with his camera.
Ziada’s son affirmed that what is happening to his father is a targeted action due to his journalistic work. He pointed out that his father manages a clothing workshop and his Facebook page only promotes his workshop-related activities, and that lawyers confirmed the absence of any political content on his Facebook account. He also mentioned that his father has never been involved in any political or partisan activities. Ziada’s family sent appeals to the President, the Public Prosecutor, and the Minister of Interior, urging for his swift release, especially considering his health condition and the fact that he is not engaged in any political activities.
The Ziada incident is not the first where Egyptian authorities have targeted the families of opposition journalists and human rights activists residing abroad. Earlier, the authorities targeted the family of human rights activist Mohamed Soltan, the founder of the Freedom Initiative organization. In May of the previous year, authorities also targeted relatives of the politician and potential presidential candidate Ahmed El-Tantawi after he announced his intention to run for presidency. Additionally, other individuals critical of the Egyptian regime who are based abroad have also been targeted by Egyptian authorities as a means of pressure and intimidation on their families.
The arrest of Ahmed Gamal Ziada’s father is part of a series of arbitrary measures taken in recent days, including the detention of the opposition journalist and publisher Hisham Qassem, the head of the Board of Trustees of the Free Trend, and the detention of Alaa El-Din Saad El-Adly, the 59-year-old father of political activist Fajr El-Adly, upon his arrival at Cairo Airport on August 18. He has been held in connection with case No. 716/2023 related to national security, charged with joining a group established contrary to the law and disseminating false news. The incident also included targeting the journalistic platform “Masadeksh” after publishing an investigative report on the Zambia plane incident, and the arrest of journalist Karim Asaad, a member of the platform, who was released 48 hours after his house was raided and he was kidnapped.
Ahmed Gamal Ziada’s son had previously faced imprisonment and trial due to his journalistic work on multiple occasions. He spent over a year and a half in pretrial detention related to the “Al-Azhar events” case, during which security forces arrested him on December 28, 2013, while covering clashes at Al-Azhar University. He was moved between various detention centers before being acquitted by the court in April 2015. He was arrested again upon his return from Tunisia in 2019, and during that time he was isolated from the outside world, and he was interrogated only after 15 days of detention. He appeared before the Imbaba prosecution office, which accused him at that time of “spreading false news” in connection with case No. 67/2019. The prosecution later decided to release him on bail of ten thousand Egyptian pounds after more than two months of detention. He then traveled to Belgium to study “International Relations and Political Sciences” at the Free University of Brussels.
