Press release
By: The Committee for Justice
Geneva: June 13, 2023
The family of the human rights defender, lawyer, and former member of the National Council for Human Rights in Egypt, Hoda Abdel Moneim, reported the denial of visitation to her for over 3 months, amid a continuous deterioration of her health condition.
3 months of disappearance:
Hoda’s daughter, Gehad Khaled, wrote a Twitter post, demanding the Egyptian authorities to allow her and the family to visit her inside her detention, amidst rumors of her transfer to a new prison. She confirmed that the family has had no information about her for over three months, while her health condition continues to deteriorate.
Developments on the requests for release on medical grounds :
Regarding the release on medical grounds, Hoda’s daughter mentioned that the Administrative Judicial Court, handling the case, postponed the session requesting her mother’s health-based release for another four months, despite her mother’s severe health deterioration. This was done to obtain the opinion of the Commissioners’ Body.
“Cases like this used to be postponed for consultation until the end of the session, but our ages, the ages of our parents, being far away from us, and the continuation of injustice mean nothing to the high judiciary,” tweeted Khaled.
Human rights condemnation and demands for her immediate release:
CFJ condemns the violations against the human rights defender, lawyer, and former member of the National Council for Human Rights in Egypt, Hoda Abdel Moneim. CFJ demands the authorities to disclose her whereabouts, as there has been no news or information about her or her health condition for over three months. The organization also calls on the Egyptian authorities to grant Abdel Moneim release on medical grounds due to her deteriorating health condition and old age.
Continued suffering:
Since her detention, Abdel Moneim has been experiencing severe deterioration in her health. She has suffered from severe knee osteoarthritis and cartilage erosion, rendering her unable to move or walk. She has also experienced a heart attack, high blood pressure, a blood clot in her left leg, and complete failure of her left kidney. Despite her condition, the prison administration has been stubborn in not transferring her to any external hospital for medical follow-up.
