Fadwa Khaled, daughter of the Egyptian human rights lawyer and former parliamentarian, Hoda Abdel Moneim, confirmed that they are still being prevented from visiting their mother in the women’s prison in Qanater, despite her deteriorating health.
The daughter and the father went to visit the mother two days ago, and after being searched, undergoing security checks, and waiting for a long time in Qanater Women’s Prison, they were told: “No visits for you.”
On September 20, Hoda Abdel Moneim was brought to her last session by an ambulance, and the session was postponed to October 15, 2022, in Case 1552 of 2018, State Security.
She was arrested on November 1, 2018 and accused of joining a banned group and receiving funding from abroad, along with 10 other people, including activist Aisha Al-Shater. Since then her detention has been renewed periodically, despite the deterioration of her health condition due to the poor detention conditions, medical negligence, and being deprived of the necessary health care.
Hoda Abdel Moneim, 63, is a lawyer and human rights defender in Egypt, with four daughters. She previously worked for the National Council for Human Rights in Egypt and was a member of the Egyptian Parliament in 2012 and 2013. Since 201 she had been banned from travelling from Egypt.
The detained lawyer suffers from blood clots, which limits her movement, and it requires regular treatment, and suffers from high pressure as well.
The Egyptian authorities are detaining thousands of people in politically motivated arrests, many of whom have been convicted, sentenced in unfair trials, or held without trial for years on baseless terrorism-related charges, in very poor detention conditions.