Woman detained in Egypt over 'sister's activism'

A mother-of-four from Birmingham has been detained by the Egyptian authorities, with her husband and lawyer claiming it is due to her sister's online activism.

Eman el-Shazly, 45, from Handsworth Wood, was taken from her mother's house in Cairo in the early hours of Monday 17 August. Her husband, Zeesharn Moustapha, said this was 24 hours after Egyptian security forces "ram-raided" the property and told her: "You need to tell your sister to stop".

Three of el-Shazly's other siblings have also been detained, with her two brothers already being held when she was taken, and one of her sisters detained soon after.

The BBC has contacted the Egyptian consulate in London but has not had a response.

Moustapha said: "The family's a bit traumatised. [The children] are heartbroken.

"We really need the UK government to get their fingers out as quickly as possible."

A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) said: "We are supporting the family of a British national detained in Egypt, and are in contact with the authorities."

Moustapha told the BBC that his wife had travelled to Egypt to look after her elderly, sick mother, who had been undertaking 18-hour round-trips to take food to el-Shazly's two brothers in detention.

He claimed this was because Egyptian detention centres did not feed the people held there.

"There's 30 people in a cell and they all sleep on a concrete floor. Each day one inmate's family brings food for all people," Moustapha said.

"If that family cannot afford it, they don't eat. Imagine the worst scenario, and it's even worse."

He said his wife had travelled to Egypt to help her mother with "all the headache" relating to this.

However, in the early hours of Sunday 16 August, Moustapha said Egyptian security forces "ram-raided" the house in Cairo, and told el-Shazly to stop her sister from criticising the Egyptian government in her YouTube videos.

"They went into the property and smashed the place up, even bending forks and knives," he said.

Around 24 hours later, he said el-Shazly called him, screaming "they're coming to get me".

Since then, the mother-of-four has been detained in the 10th Ramadan Rehabilitation Centre, which Egyptian authorities have confirmed to the FCDO.

Her lawyer, Arfan Rashid of Rashid Law, told the BBC: "These are trumped up charges and an attempt by Egyptian authorities to silence a political activist in the UK – her sister.

"In my opinion, there is ample and compelling evidence this is just punishment by proxy."

He added that her detention formed part of a "longstanding and documented pattern of pressure" upon her sister.

Her sister told the BBC that she was sorry that her family had been detained. She said this was a tactic used by the Egyptian government to silence critics. But she would not stop posting her videos because she felt it was her duty to make a stand.

In the UK government's country policy and information note on Egypt from March 2026, it references reports surrounding the targeting of the relatives of activists.

Rashid added that if el-Shazly had been wanted by Egyptian authorities, she would have been detained when she entered the country.

"There is a history of authorities targeting these families who have people in their family who are activists," he said.

Furthermore, el-Shazly's has the same case file number as her two brothers, Hassan and Eid, who Rashid says face "substantially identical allegations".

The brothers were initially arrested in 2020 and spent nearly three years in pre-trial detention before being released.

However, they were subsequently arrested again at their home on 19 May and their detention has repeatedly been renewed.

Moustapha said that no one had broken any laws and that his wife's detention was "just punishment for her sister making videos."

"Her family has historically been tortured," he added, alleging that her cousin had been electrocuted while in detention for four days and had been unable to speak since.

There has been no contact with el-Shazly since she has been detained.

Moustapha said he was concerned by what he described as the UK government's "lacklustre at best" involvement, and in particular that no wellness check had yet taken place.

He added that he had to inform the FCDO where his wife was being held.

The FCDO did not comment on these allegations when asked by the BBC.

Moustapha said the majority of support he had received was from Perry Barr MP Ayoub Khan and from Rashid Law.

He now hopes the case will be escalated to Alistair Burt, the UK's first ever envoy for complex consular cases.

While he and his family wait for any news on el-Shazly and her three siblings, 12 children wait for news about their parents.

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