While welcoming the release of political opponent Ahmad Tantawi on 28 May 2025, after he served in full an unjust one-year prison sentence, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) is profoundly concerned by the Egyptian authorities’ persecutory threats against him and his wife.
On 6 February 2024, the Matriya Misdemeanor Court in Cairo had found Ahmad Tantawi guilty of purported “electoral offences” in the context of his candidacy in the 2023 Egyptian presidential elections, imposing on him a one-year imprisonment sentence in addition to a five-year ban on running for presidential elections and a fine of 20,000 Egyptian pounds (approximately 647 USD). Both the Matriya Misdemeanour Court of Appeal, on 27 May 2024, and the Court of Cassation, on 17 December 2024, upheld his conviction and sentence.
“Ahmad Tantawi was arbitrarily prosecuted and then unjustly convicted and sentenced solely for running as a serious contender against President al-Sisi in the last presidential elections,” said Saïd Benarbia, ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme Director. “The Egyptian authorities must stop persecuting him, whether directly or through his family and supporters.”
In the run up to Tantawi’s release, the Egyptian authorities began unjustly targeting him again. On 27 April 2025, one month before his release, Tantawi was interrogated in the context of two new criminal cases — namely, No. 2468 of 2023 State Security and No. 2635 of 2023 State Security in relation to charges of “inciting the commission of a terrorist act using force; violence with the aim of disturbing public order; endangering the safety of society; obstructing the implementation of laws and regulations; and inciting participation in a gathering of more than five people with the aim of preventing and obstructing the implementation of laws”. At the time, Tantawi denied any involvement in these offences and finished serving his prison sentence the following month. However, this arbitrary investigation against him remains ongoing, in yet another effort to target Tantawi and clamp down on any form of political opposition.
In addition, on 26 May 2025, two days before her husband’s release, Tantawi’s wife, Rasha Qandeel, a prominent journalist, was interrogated for eight hours in case No. 4196 of 2025 State Security in relation to charges of “spreading and broadcasting false news and information that could harm the public interest both inside and outside the country”. She was questioned on her social media posts related to political activist Alaa Abdel Fattah and lawyer Hoda Abdelmoneim, as well as on several of her articles, including, “The History of Borrowing and Loans from Western Countries” and “The Sovereign Wealth Fund 2: Egypt Between Military Rule and the Police State.” She was eventually released after her bail was set at 50,000 Egyptian Pounds (approximately 979 USD). While the proceedings against Qandeel blatantly violate her rights to freedom of expression and opinion, the timing of her interrogation seems to be another attempt by the Egyptian authorities to further target her husband and dissuade him from any continued involvement in politics.
The ICJ calls on the Egyptian authorities to abandon the ongoing criminal investigations against Tantawi and Qandeel, who are being targeted solely for the legitimate exercise of their human rights, and cease all forms of persecution against them and all political opponents.
Contact
Saïd Benarbia, Director, ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme; t: +41 22 979 3800, e: said.benarbia@icj.org
Nour Al Hajj, Communications & Advocacy Officer, ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme; e: nour.alhajj@icj.org
