HRC 61 Written Statement : Arbitrary Detention, Enforced Disappearance, Torture, Prolonged Pre-Trial Detention, and Religious Coercion of Members of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light in Egypt

HRC 61 Written Statement : Arbitrary Detention, Enforced Disappearance, Torture, Prolonged Pre-Trial Detention, and Religious Coercion of Members of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light in Egypt

Human Right Without Frontiers, International Support for Human Rights and CAP Liberté de Conscience has submitted a joint written statement to the Human Rights Council at its sixty-first session addressing the grave and systematic violations of freedom of religion or belief perpetrated against members of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light (AROPL) in Egypt. Since March 2025, Egyptian authorities have detained numerous peaceful adherents of this religious minority solely for expressing their beliefs and possessing religious materials, subjecting them to arbitrary arrest, enforced disappearance lasting over a month, torture, and prolonged pre-trial detention exceeding ten months without trial. The statement documents severe violations including electric shocks, beatings, denial of legal counsel, inhumane prison conditions, and crucially, organized religious coercion through visits by Al-Azhar-affiliated sheikhs explicitly aimed at forcing detainees to renounce their faith. CAP Liberté de Conscience calls upon the Egyptian Government to immediately and unconditionally release all detained AROPL members, investigate torture and enforced disappearances by security forces, end the misuse of pre-trial detention, guarantee fair-trial rights and access to legal representation, and cease all forms of religious coercion in violation of Egypt’s international human rights obligations.

The Situation of Bahá’ís in Egypt: The Case of Systematic Discrimination  and the EU’s Response to the Human Rights Issue

The Situation of Bahá’ís in Egypt: The Case of Systematic Discrimination and the EU’s Response to the Human Rights Issue

European Parliament member Per Clausen in the Written Question (E-000676/2025) submitted the 13th February highlighted a diplomatic lever: Egypt’s  macro-financial assistance from the European Commission is linked with human rights guarantees. The crux of the matter  is this: What are the concrete measures that the EU is going to use in order to make Egypt  undo the 1960 discriminatory decree?

Religious Persecution and Human Rights: UN Report Examines Torture and Religious Freedom

Religious Persecution and Human Rights: UN Report Examines Torture and Religious Freedom

In the  report “Freedom of Religion or Belief and the Prohibition of  Torture”, the UN Special  Rapporteur Nazila Ghanea looks at how religious persecution is linked with human  rights  violations. The study which was discussed at the 58th session of the Human Rights Council and later made  news by European Times News, focuses on how religious prejudice can lead to institutional violation.

 The focus of  the report is on the connection between coercion and religious freedom. According to European Times  News,  Ghanea said, “Not all forms of coercion reach the threshold of torture or ill-treatment,  but all forms of torture  committed on persons on the basis of their religion or belief constitute coercion.”

Egypt’s Human Rights Landscape: Insights from the 48th Universal Periodic Review

Egypt’s Human Rights Landscape: Insights from the 48th Universal Periodic Review

The Coordination des Associations et des Particuliers pour la Liberté de Conscience (CAP Liberté de Conscience), a secular international organization, has actively contributed to the 48th session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group on Egypt. CAP Liberté de Conscience submitted a detailed report addressing critical issues related to freedom of religion and belief, particularly highlighting the persecution faced by the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light in Egypt. This article synthesizes the key points from the stakeholders’ submissions, the UPR summary report, and CAP’s recommendations to shed light on the ongoing challenges and proposed solutions.

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