Families of Egyptian political prisoners launch UK advocacy group

Families of Egyptian political prisoners launch UK advocacy group MEE staff on Thu, 08/13/2026 - 11:13 The Families of Egyptian Detainees Association will liaise with international bodies to fight for the release of prisoners of conscience, press release says A picture taken on 16 January 2022 shows the Correctional and Rehabilitation Centre in Badr city, 65 kms east of the Egyptian capital Cairo (AFP/Khaled Desouki) Off A new organisation was launched in London on Thursday to represent the families of political detainees held in Egypt, according to a press relese shared with Middle East Eye.  The Families of Egyptian Detainees Association (Feda) said it will liaise with institutions and authorities both inside and outside Egypt, in the hope of helping secure the release of political detainees.  It said it would “work with anyone who can contribute to closing this painful chapter and securing the release of political detainees from prison”.  Since 2013, when Abdel Fatah el-Sisi led a military coup which deposed Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi, there has been a huge increase in political detentions.  Rights groups estimate that over 60,000 prisoners of conscience are held in Egyptian jails, of whom over 1,000 are women. Many of them are students, youths and activists from across the Egyptian political spectrum.  (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); According to the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, the total number of prisoners in Egypt in March 2021 was 120,000, with an estimated 65,000 political prisoners, at least 26,000 of whom were being held in pre-trial detention. Many, including former President Morsi and several opposition figures, have died of medical neglect and other inhumane prison conditions, according to documentation by multiple rights groups. Feda said it would work to represent families of detainees, wherever they are in the world.  “[We aim] to keep