The Committee for Justice (CFJ) has released its new report on the situation of human rights defenders and lawyers in Egypt through June 2026. The report documents and analyzes the most prominent violations committed against individuals working in the human rights field during the reporting period, amid the continued restrictions imposed on civic and human rights work and the targeting of lawyers, researchers, and activists because of their peaceful and legitimate activities.
The report documents that at least 891 lawyers and human rights defenders have been subjected to various forms of legal and human rights violations, including arbitrary arrest, prolonged pretrial detention, case recycling (rotation into new cases), the filing of vague and repetitive charges, travel bans, designation on terrorist lists, asset freezes, restrictions on lawyers’ professional activities, as well as enforced disappearance, denial of adequate healthcare, and poor conditions of detention.
The report also highlights a number of illustrative cases that reflect the patterns of targeting faced by human rights defenders and lawyers. It demonstrates how certain exceptional measures, particularly prolonged pretrial detention, have effectively become tools for extending deprivation of liberty, causing severe consequences for victims and their families, while undermining the ability of civil society to carry out its role in monitoring, documenting, and advocating for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The Committee for Justice (CFJ) emphasizes that the continued violations against human rights defenders and lawyers affect not only those directly targeted, but also undermine the right to access justice, the independence of the legal profession, and the freedom of civil society action, thereby adversely impacting efforts to promote human rights and strengthen the rule of law.
In this context, the Commission calls on the Egyptian authorities to immediately release all individuals detained solely for the peaceful exercise of their human rights or professional activities; end the misuse of prolonged pretrial detention and case recycling practices; lift restrictions imposed on independent civil society organizations; ensure effective investigations into allegations of enforced disappearance, ill-treatment, and denial of medical care; and respect the independence of the legal profession by enabling lawyers to perform their duties free from intimidation, harassment, or undue interference.
The Committee for Justice (CFJ) further calls upon the international community and United Nations human rights mechanisms to continue monitoring the situation of human rights defenders and lawyers in Egypt and to support efforts aimed at ensuring a safe and enabling environment for independent human rights work.
In concluding its report, the Commission stresses that protecting human rights defenders and lawyers is not merely about safeguarding individuals; it is about protecting the broader principles of justice, accountability, and the rule of law. Ensuring that they can carry out their work freely and safely remains a fundamental prerequisite for advancing respect for human rights and strengthening a state governed by law and institutions.
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