Egyptian authorities released Coptic human rights activist Rami Kamel on Saturday after more than two years in pre-trial detention on charges of membership in a terrorist group, his sister announced on her Facebook page.
"
Rami is among his family ... it's party time!"
», Rejoiced his sister, Bossi Kamel.
Rami Kamel was arrested on November 23, 2019, accused of having joined a “
terrorist
” group, of having received foreign funds and disseminated false information.
Read also Why the Egyptian Copts are a priority target of Islamists
This activist of the Coptic Christian community of Egypt had made himself known during the popular revolt of 2011, which had caused the fall of Hosni Mubarak, calling for more rights for this minority.
He is one of the figures of the Maspero Youth Union, a Coptic human rights organization founded in the wake of the uprising.
The Copts are the largest religious minority in the Middle East, with 10-15 million people in Egypt.
The government and the Church are divided on their exact numbers, in the absence of recent official demographics.
This minority is regularly the victim of attacks, sometimes deadly, by Muslim extremists, including the Islamic State group.
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) had criticized "
the apparent renewal of the crackdown on activists and journalists
" in Egypt.
Egyptian police raided the premises of independent Egyptian media Mada Masr, briefly arresting three of its journalists.