Amnesty International and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights on Tuesday called on Egyptian authorities to urgently halt the arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and deportations against the Ahmadi Muslim minority community.

Amnesty International researcher Mahmoud Shalaby stated: “The Egyptian authorities have legal obligations to respect and protect the right to freedom of religion of everyone in the country which includes those with religious beliefs not recognised by the state.”

The rights organizations highlighted the case of Ahmed al-Tanawi, a Syrian national who is at imminent risk of deportation to Syria. The organizations stated that “[t]he security situation in Syria remains volatile,” and thus they remain opposed to forced returns to the country.

Last month, at least four men were arrested or “disappeared” in Egypt in relation to their open following of the Ahmadi religion. According to Amnesty International, security officers from Egypt’s National Security Agency questioned the detainees about their association with the Ahmadiyya movement and possession of religious texts. The rights group also noted that religious minorities and atheists in the country are also threatened and harassed by their educational institutions and online.

Freedom House gave Egypt 18 out of 100 points in its Freedom in the World 2025 Report, noting that religious minorities regularly face discrimination in the country. Other groups have also faced repression in Egypt, including human rights defenders and lawyers. In January, an Amnesty International report also found that Egyptian authorities had arbitrarily detained activists ahead of the UN Universal Period Review. Additionally, Amnesty International and the Sinai Foundation of Human Rights released statements in mid-February condemning the Egyptian military’s trial of civilian fishermen. Further, a coalition of human rights organizations released a joint statement last year calling on the Egyptian government to stop the recent targeting and retaliation of human rights lawyers.