After three years of imprisonment for Facebook posts deemed offensive, Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo, a Yemeni Christian refugee, has been released from an Egyptian prison. Abdo, originally from Yemen, sought asylum in Egypt after facing death threats for converting to Christianity. His arrest stemmed from his participation in a Christian Facebook group discussing Islamic theology. While living as a registered asylum seeker with the UNHCR, he was detained in 2021. Although freed, the charges against him have not been dismissed, and the case remains open with State Security authorities, according to Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International, the organization supporting his legal defense.
ADF International, which played a key role in securing Abdo's release by presenting his case to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, asserts that Egyptian authorities arrested Abdo and another Christian man, Nour Girgis, due to their connection with the Facebook page. The organization reports that the authorities are now accusing them of terrorism-related activities. Abdo endured harsh conditions during his three-year detention, including transfers between multiple detention centers and a hunger strike during his final six months. He also experienced health problems related to his heart, liver, and kidneys.
Upon his release, Abdo expressed gratitude for those who supported him, stating, "I endured many hardships in prison. It isn’t right that a government should tear me away from my family, keep me in these awful conditions, only because of the faith in which I peacefully choose to believe." His son, Husam Baqi, criticized the situation where individuals are penalized for their beliefs, highlighting the injustice of imprisonment or death based on faith. Kelsey Zorzi, ADF International's director of advocacy for religious freedom, emphasized that Abdo's detention without trial and the lack of opportunity for self-defense represent a grave violation of human rights. She stressed that peaceful religious expression should not be criminalized. Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution and founder of the AHA Foundation, called Abdo's case a "surreal example of censorial blasphemy policies" and a violation of his human rights. Ali, herself a refugee and convert to Christianity, faces ongoing death threats for her criticism of the Muslim Brotherhood. She warned of the growing trend of governments suppressing free speech and the urgent need to defend this fundamental right.
