Amnesty International, in conjunction with numerous nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), released a statement Monday calling for Egyptian authorities to immediately set free lawyer and activist Ibrahim Metwally after nearly seven years in pre-trial detention.

The statement recounted the series of injustices that have befallen Metwally since his arrest. NGOs claimed Metwally has been tortured, mistreated by police, and denied access to his family and legal representation:

Following his arrest, he was held incommunicado for two days until he appeared before the Supreme State Security Prosecutor (SSSP) in Cairo. He told his lawyers that during this period, National Security Agency (NSA) officers stripped him naked, gave him electric shocks in various parts of his body, doused him in water, and beat him, in violation of the absolute prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment.

The SSSP, a branch of the Egyptian government, has also allegedly subjected Metwally to “rotation” — a practice that keeps arrestees in pre-trial detention through a series of dropped charges followed by new charges on similar grounds. This is despite a prohibition of the practice in the Criminal Code of Egypt. NGOs state that the SSSP charged Metwally with communicating with foreign entities and spreading false information in 2017 then dropped charges in 2019. SSSP then allegedly charged him with the same offense and repeated the cycle in 2020.

According to the released statement, a new trial began on June 1, and prosecutors now claim Metwally has funded terrorism activities. To date, his lawyers have not been granted access to case files. The trial will continue on June 11.

The Egyptian authorities arrested Metwally in 2017 at Cairo International Airport en route to a speech at a conference in Switzerland about losing his son to enforced disappearances in 2013. He was initially held in solitary confinement for two years.

Last month, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Mary Lawlor commented on the human rights violations suffered by Metwally, calling for adherence to international laws and government accountability. Lawlor pressed the Egyptian government to abide by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both of which guarantee the rights of arrested persons and the right to a fair hearing.

The special rapporteur contended that Metwally’s arrest and detention are haphazard, unlawful, and demonstrate Egypt’s penchant for retaliation against individuals who cooperate with the UN and other international organizations. Lawlor based her critique in part on the findings of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

Metwally, 61, is currently detained in Badr 3 prison and suffers from multiple health conditions. In December 2024, his family requested his transfer to a specialized hospital to undergo doctor-recommended surgery. The Egyptian government has not yet responded to the request.