UK Urged to Intervene for British-Egyptian Woman Detained in Cairo Over Sister's Activism
Theo Patrick Wintour, The Guardian
Lawyers call on the UK to intervene for Eman el-Shazly, a British-Egyptian woman detained in Cairo, allegedly to pressure her activist sister Mona. Eman was arrested on 16 August while visiting Egypt; her brothers are also imprisoned. The UK Foreign Office has confirmed her detention.
The UK Foreign Office has been urged to intervene to secure the release of a British-Egyptian woman allegedly detained in Cairo over her sister's political activities.
Eman el-Shazly, 45, a Birmingham resident, was arrested on 16 August during a visit to Egypt. Her lawyer says she is being held to silence her sister Mona, who frequently criticises the Egyptian government via a UK-based YouTube channel. Mona has lived in the UK for 18 years and is a prominent activist, alleging corruption in security agencies and public services.
The sisters' two brothers spent three years in prison and were rearrested in May. They had been held in pre-trial detention on charges of “promoting the ideas of a terrorist organisation on social media, as well as spreading false news harmful to state security.” The UK Foreign Office confirmed Eman is held at Ramadan rehabilitation centre, with her file sharing a reference number with those of her brothers Hassan and Eid.
President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi's government has faced frequent accusations of detaining relatives of critics to exert indirect pressure aimed at silencing dissent from abroad. Arfan Rashid, lawyer for Eman's husband, said Eman has never been involved in politics, and she travelled to Cairo two months ago to care for their sick mother after the brothers' arrest. “There is overwhelming evidence that Eman was arrested to silence Mona,” Rashid said, adding that Eman told security officials she no longer has contact with her sister, and many family members have asked Mona to stop her activism without success.
Mona confirmed family members have urged her to cease activities and even take down YouTube videos, but she said: “I have done nothing wrong or illegal... The government will not stop if I show weakness. The government is collapsing.” Mona runs a YouTube channel with 130,000 subscribers and is also active on X, making controversial claims about officials. On X, Mona claimed up to five family members have been detained or harassed, and urged them to “abandon me to save yourselves from this despicable dictator.”
Eman's husband, Zeesharn Moustapha, said Egyptian police and security officers visited her home days before the arrest, demanding Eman tell Mona to stop posting anti-government content. The UK embassy in Cairo has requested consular access to Eman but has not yet received a positive response. Eman's lawyer has questioned whether Alistair Burt, the UK's new special envoy for complex consular cases, appointed a month ago, should intervene. Burt has met Gurpreet Singh Johal, brother of Jagtar Singh Johal, who has been detained in India for nearly nine years without conviction. The UK Foreign Office declined to comment.
Lawyer Rashid said the UK government acknowledged Egypt's practice of “punishment through relatives” in a policy document published in March 2026. Human Rights Watch and the House of Commons library have warned since 2021 about the pattern of targeting relatives of critics living abroad.
