Law and Democracy Support Foundation (LDSF) condemns the Egyptian Cabinet’s decisions to strip activists Tarek and Anas Habib, and Ahmed Hatem Refaat Abdel Maksoud Soliman, of their Egyptian nationality. LDSF rejects the expanding use of denationalisation to pressure Egyptians abroad as part of the various patterns of transnational repression, given its impact on their fundamental rights, foremost among them the right to return to their country.
The two decisions revoking the nationality of activists Tarek and Anas Habib were published in the Official Gazette on 12 November 2026. The decision concerning Tarek Habib is No. 90 of 2026, and the decision concerning Anas Habib is No. 93 of 2026. They came shortly after Decision No. 77 of 2026, issued on 7 September 2026, which stripped Ahmed Hatem Soliman of his nationality on the grounds of his habitual residence abroad and his alleged membership of a “foreign body” whose purpose was described as undermining the social and economic order of the state by force. The decision relied on this vague description alone. It did not name the body or set out the facts supporting the accusation, and it was not based on any court ruling. In the cases of Anas and Tarek Habib, the Cabinet relied on their acquisition of a foreign nationality without prior permission. Many Egyptians abroad are in the same position without being stripped of their nationality, which makes the selective use of this discretionary power against dissidents an indication of arbitrariness.
LDSF previously documented, in its report “Shield and Sword: How the ‘Union of Egyptian Youth Abroad’ Pursues Dissidents and Critics in Europe”, various patterns of transnational repression targeting dissidents in Europe, including the targeting of the brothers Anas and Tarek Habib. The report documented digital campaigns against their social media accounts and the publication of inciting content against them. It also documented the use of AI-generated content that directly targeted Anas Habib and included a simulated assault on him.
On 26 May of this year, Anas Habib was physically assaulted in Amsterdam, after which he filed a complaint with the Dutch authorities. On 11 October, the Dutch authorities arrested Ahmed Nasser, a leading figure in the Union of Egyptian Youth Abroad, on suspicion of premeditated assault and robbery with violence.
On 28 October, the Dutch authorities announced the opening of a separate investigation into him on suspicion of providing services to a foreign power. The investigation is being conducted by the police’s National Investigations and Interventions Unit (LO), under the direction of the National Public Prosecutor’s Office, and concerns a number of incidents that took place in 2025 and 2026. Such acts are criminalised under Article 98d of the Dutch Criminal Code, which was introduced as part of Dutch legislation aimed at countering foreign interference and related activities.
The Cairo Criminal Court had previously placed Tarek and Anas Habib on the terrorism list for five years, in a decision published in Al-Waqa’i’ Al-Misriyya on 24 November 2025. The timing of the publication of the two denationalisation decisions, after the announcement of the Dutch investigation into Nasser, raises concerns that this measure is being used to punish activists for their activity abroad or to retaliate against those who report violations by proxy actors. It also raises concerns about the use of phrases such as “foreign entities” to justify depriving individuals of their nationality.
The cases of Anas, Tarek and Ahmed Hatem do not represent an exceptional or new approach. They are part of a policy of using nationality as a means of pressure on Egyptians abroad. In recent years, LDSF has monitored repeated decisions revoking the nationality of dissidents and activists, among them Ghada Naguib, who lives in Turkey, in 2020, the activist Fagr El-Adly in 2023, and Akram El-Sammak and his two sons, Yassin El-Sammak and Ali El-Sammak. Their nationality was revoked after they demonstrated in front of the Egyptian Mission to the United Nations in New York in 2025 to demand that the Egyptian government open the Rafah crossing and allow aid into Gaza.
The impact of denationalisation is not limited to the symbolic loss of the bond of citizenship. It extends to a wide range of fundamental rights, including the right to return to one’s country, access to official documents and consular services, and the preservation of family and legal ties inside Egypt. It also deepens the legal precarity faced by many Egyptians in exile. The use of nationality as a tool of punishment further creates a broad chilling effect within diaspora communities, by sending the message that criticism or peaceful activism may lead to the loss of one of the most important legal bonds between an individual and their homeland.
Egypt’s Nationality Law allows the Cabinet to revoke nationality where a person acquires a foreign nationality without prior permission, and where a person resides abroad and joins a “foreign body” whose purposes include undermining the social or economic order of the state, an elastic phrase that sets no clear standard. LDSF believes that the use of these provisions against dissidents abroad must be examined in light of their impact on those individuals’ rights, foremost among them the right to enter their own country. Article 6 of the Egyptian Constitution provides that nationality is a right of anyone born to an Egyptian father or an Egyptian mother, and Article 62 prohibits preventing any citizen from returning to the territory of the state. Article 12(4) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights likewise prohibits arbitrarily depriving a person of the right to enter their own country, and the Human Rights Committee has made clear that a state may not use denationalisation to arbitrarily prevent a person from returning to their country. The Covenant further protects freedom of opinion and expression under Article 19 and prohibits discrimination on the basis of political opinion under Article 26. Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights prohibits the arbitrary deprivation of nationality. UN human rights experts have stressed that arbitrary deprivation of nationality, cancellation of passports and denial of consular services are among the tools of transnational repression.
Karim Abdelrady, Executive Director of the Law and Democracy Support Foundation, said: “When the revocation of Tarek and Anas Habib’s nationality comes at the very time the Dutch authorities are investigating a leading figure in the Union of Egyptian Youth Abroad, it is difficult to read the decision as anything other than a retaliatory measure, and a sign that the Egyptian authorities are moving towards wider use of denationalisation as a tool of transnational repression.”
Abdelrady added: “It is unacceptable for a power as grave as the revocation of nationality to lie in the hands of executive officials whose path to office is of doubtful democratic legitimacy, and who exercise it through Cabinet decisions without a court ruling or a fair and impartial trial. Nationality by birth is an inherent right, not a favour to be taken back whenever an authority hostile to freedoms sees fit.”
LDSF calls on the Cabinet to rescind the denationalisation decisions issued against dissidents and critics abroad, and to provide safe channels enabling dual nationals among them to apply for permission to naturalise or to regularise their status without any risk to their personal safety. It also calls on the Cabinet to stop using denationalisation as a tool of transnational repression, and to guarantee the right of those stripped of their nationality to pursue appeal procedures without exposure to any security risks. LDSF further calls on the Egyptian Parliament to amend the Nationality Law to prevent its use as a punitive and retaliatory tool of transnational repression against Egyptian activists abroad.
