“I got out of prison, but I never got out of fear.”
With this sentence, Egyptian activist Sayed El-Mansi sums up years of state persecution, forced exile, and ongoing trauma.
Since 2012, Sayed has been involved in campaigns defending political prisoners and calling for genuine justice in Egypt. He participated in initiatives like “Write Your Constitution” and “No to Military Trials for Civilians,” and founded the “Campaign to Free the Revolution’s Detainees” — helping families connect with pro bono lawyers and documenting human rights violations.
But his activism came at a high price.
Between 2014 and 2021, Sayed was arrested four times and spent over 37 months in pretrial detention. He endured torture, abuse, and was denied access to education — even as a minor. In 2017, he went on a hunger strike to protest his inhumane detention conditions.
After release, the harassment didn’t stop. He was subjected to weekly surveillance by Egypt’s National Security Agency without any legal basis. In August 2022, a direct threat from a security officer forced him to flee the country.
His exile has been no less punishing: from Egypt to Azerbaijan, Georgia, Malaysia, Kenya, Mozambique, and finally South Africa. Today, more than two years later, Sayed remains undocumented, unemployed, and under constant threat of deportation.
The Law and Democracy Support Foundation calls on the authorities in South Africa to:
– Recognize the severe humanitarian and political hardships Sayed has endured, and accelerate the processing of his asylum request through a fair and transparent mechanism.
– Grant him temporary residency and work authorization to restore his dignity and provide minimum stability.
– Ensure access to psychological and educational support to help him recover and regain agency.
– Establish dedicated protection pathways for human rights defenders in exile.
