After more than two years of arbitrary detention, officially described as “pretrial detention”, the Egyptian authorities have released businessman Safwan Thabet and his son, Seif.
Safwan Thabet, 76-years-old, is the founder of Juhayna Food Industries (JFI), Egypt’s largest dairy company. Thabet is the majority shareholder and CEO.
The Egyptian authorities arrested Thabet on 2 December 2, 2020, on the allegation that he had financed opposition groups that the regime describes as “terrorist” organisations. Sources close to the company confirmed that shortly before Thabet’s arrest a senior official had demanded that he transfer a portion of his company to an entity owned by the Egyptian government.
Much of Safwan’s detention was spent in solitary confinement.
In February 2021, Egyptian authorities also arrested Safwan’s eldest son, Saif, 40-years-old, and pressured him to transfer shares of the company to the state, which he refused. He was also held in solitary confinement, in conditions amounting to torture.
Safwan Thabet suffers from various health problems, including a liver illness. Prison authorities are reported to have refused to provide him with proper food, medicine, and clothes.
A report by the British publication The Economist stated that the Egyptian regime extorts business-owners and investors in order to obtain shares in various companies.
The same publication stated that the Egyptian regime arrested Thabet after his refusing to sell JFI, which he founded.
