Authorities have released senior officials from the "Initiative for the Rights of the Individual" • It is estimated that the catalyst for this was the appointment of the designated Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken
Egyptian President al-Sisi
Photography:
IP
Three human rights activists in Egypt who have been in jail for weeks have recently been released following international pressure.
Gasser 'Abd a-Razak, Karim Anara and Muhammad Bashir, who worked as senior activists in the Egyptian Initiative for Individual Rights, have been arrested at various times since mid-November.
Many were arrested by the Egyptian authorities during the reign of al-Sisi, and during the tenure of his predecessors.
But the three attracted international attention when diplomats, Western policymakers and celebrities called for their release.
Among the celebrities were actress Scarlett Johansson, who uploaded two support videos and Oscar winner Emma Thompson.
European countries also exerted pressure in light of the fact that their ambassadors met with the Initiative for the Individual team on 3 November.
Some activists have estimated that the main catalyst for the release was President-elect Joe Biden's candidate for new Secretary of State Anthony Blink. The latter signaled that the next administration would take a tougher stance towards Egypt when it came to its treatment of human rights. "Meeting foreign diplomats is not a crime," Blinken tweeted after the arrests, "so is human rights support."