Egypt: Rights Groups Condemn the Arbitrary Referral of Exiled Academic Taqadum Al-Khatib to Trial and Call for an End to Transnational Repression

The undersigned organizations express their condemnation of the continued persecution and harassment of Egyptian researcher and academic Dr. Taqadum Al-Khatib, who has been living in exile in Germany, following a new arbitrary in absentia decision by the Egyptian authorities to refer him — along with 168 others — to criminal trial in Case No. 29/2025 (Tagamoa El-Khamis Felonies), registered under No. 2/2025 (New Cairo Felonies), which was heard on Sunday, 26 October 2025, before the Terrorism Circuits of Badr Court. where the court decided to adjourn the hearing to 30 December 2025 for the testimony of witnesses.

The case also includes a number of human rights defenders and activists living in exile, underscoring that Al-Khatib’s case is not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern of transnational repression. It further involves several prominent journalists inside Egypt, including photojournalist Hamdy El-Zaeem, who has been arbitrarily detained for more than five years — reflecting the expansion of repression to target independent voices both inside and outside the country. 

The Public Prosecution has brought politically motivated charges against Al-Khatib, accusing him of “joining a terrorist group” and “participating in a criminal agreement.” This reflects the authorities’ ongoing misuse of counterterrorism laws as a tool to suppress peaceful dissent and silence independent voices both domestically and abroad.

Al-Khatib holds a joint PhD degree from Freie Universität Berlin (Germany) and Princeton University (United States) and has resided in Germany since August 2013.
Since 2017, he has been subjected to a campaign of transnational repression following his contribution to collecting and analyzing historical documents related to the Tiran and Sanafir case, which revealed important facts to the public and supported the legal team’s challenge.

This contribution marked a turning point in his life, as it was followed by retaliatory measures by Egyptian security agencies, including the revocation of his doctoral scholarship, an order by Damietta University to return to Egypt, and his subsequent dismissal while abroad. A court ruling later obliged him to repay the value of the scholarship. El-Khatib has also faced repeated administrative and legal obstacles in obtaining his official documents from the Egyptian Embassy in Berlin — including his passport and national ID — as well as ongoing restrictions on his movement and professional life, amounting to an arbitrary deprivation of his right to identity and nationality.

The undersigned organizations affirm that Al-Khatib’s case is not an isolated one, but part of an escalating and systematic pattern of transnational repression carried out by the Egyptian authorities against human rights defenders and dissidents living abroad — in clear violation of Egypt’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.

These politically motivated prosecutions represent a new dimension of Egypt’s policy of silencing dissent, aiming to intimidate not only individuals inside the country but also members of the diaspora, exiled activists, and independent voices abroad — further entrenching Egypt’s pattern of cross-border repression.

A similar in absentia conviction was previously issued against politician Hisham Kassem on 14 May 2025, reflecting the authorities’ ongoing use of politicized trials and fabricated charges as tools of retaliation against independent figures abroad.

Egypt remains one of the world’s most active perpetrators of transnational repression, employing tactics that include: the arrest of relatives of journalists and dissidents; the blocking of independent and exile media outlets; the targeting of journalists with spyware; the denial of consular services and identity documents to exiles and their families (including children); and, in some cases, physical assaults and ongoing intimidation.

The undersigned organizations call for the following:

1. Drop all fabricated charges against Dr. Taqadum Al-Khatib and immediately end the persecution of Egyptian dissidents both inside and outside the country.
2. Cease the use of the judiciary and security agencies as instruments of political retaliation.
3. Annul all politically motivated in absentia verdicts issued against human rights defenders and activists living in exile.
4. Guarantee the right of Egyptians abroad to obtain official documents and consular services without discrimination, delay, or obstruction.
5. End defamation, incitement, and smear campaigns targeting human rights defenders, journalists, and academics.
6. Remove the names of dissidents and human rights defenders from terrorism lists and revoke all related legal consequences, including travel bans and asset freezes.

Signatory Organizations:

1. Law and Democracy Support Foundation  (LDSF) e.V. 
2. Egyptian Human Rights Forum (EHRF)
3. Egyptian Front For Human Rights (EFHR)
4. El Nadim Center
5. The Egyptian Commission For Rights and Freedoms (ECRF)
6. REDWORD for Human Rights & Freedom of Expression
7. EgyptWide for Human Rights
8. SCIENCE AT RISK Emergency Office by akno e.V.
9. HuMENA for Human Rights and Civic Engagement
10. Intersection Association for Rights and Freedoms
11. Digital Democracy Now
12. Federal Association of Vietnamese Refugees in the Federal Republic of Germany
13. PEN America
14. Journalisten und Anwälte für Meinungsfreiheit (JAM) e.V.
15. People in Need
16. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies
17. Skyline International for Human Rights (SIHR)
18. EuroMed Rights Network