In a new escalation against human rights defenders, the Supreme State Security Prosecution has ordered the detention of lawyer and human rights defender Rofaida Mohamed El-Sayed for 15 days pending investigation, two days after her arrest and forcible transfer to an undisclosed location by National Security forces in Al-Sharqia Governorate — a blatant violation of the Egyptian Constitution and international treaties.
In the early hours of November 3, 2025, a National Security force raided the home of Rofaida Mohamed El-Sayed Ismail, a lawyer, human rights defender, and member of the defense team for prisoners of conscience in Al-Sharqia, and took her to an unknown location. This action constitutes a breach of Article 54 of the Egyptian Constitution, which requires a reasoned judicial order for detention and guarantees immediate communication with a lawyer and family. It also violates Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, which affirm the need to protect lawyers from any restrictions or threats while performing their professional duties.
On November 5, she was interrogated before the Supreme State Security Prosecution, which ordered her detention for 15 days pending investigation and placed her in Al-Ashir Min Ramadan Prison (Rehabilitation 4), on charges related to her legal and human rights work.
Rofaida Mohamed El-Sayed is considered one of the most prominent lawyers defending prisoners of conscience in Al-Sharqia Governorate. Her arrest is part of a series of violations targeting women working in the human rights field.
It is noteworthy that her father, Dr. Mohamed El-Sayed Ismail, has been forcibly disappeared since August 2013 following his arbitrary arrest in front of his home in Al-Sharqia. His fate remains unknown to this day, making his case one of the longest-standing enforced disappearances in Egypt.
Committee for Justice strongly condemns these practices, affirming that the arrest of Rofaida Mohamed El-Sayed constitutes a flagrant violation of the freedom of legal work and the independence of the legal profession, undermining the rule of law.
The Committee stresses that the arrest of a human rights defender without a judicial warrant and the denial of her legal rights contravene the Egyptian Constitution and Egypt’s international obligations, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers. We call for her immediate and unconditional release, guarantee of her physical and psychological safety, and an end to the policy of targeting lawyers and human rights defenders
