A man who was detained in Egypt for more than three years due to his Christian faith has been released.

Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo, a father of five and a Yemeni refugee, faced what ADF International called “severe conditions” and a hunger strike before his release earlier this month.

Abdo’s plight has caught the attention of human rights activists who routinely sounded the alarm that his detention and treatment were deeply problematic and illegal.

“The arbitrary detention of this husband and father without a criminal trial, and the lack of an opportunity for him to defend himself against alleged offenses, constitutes a severe violation of human rights,” Kelsey Zorzi, director of advocacy for Global Religious Freedom at ADF International, said in a statement.  “The peaceful expression of one’s religious convictions cannot [be] a crime — not in Egypt, nor anywhere else in the world.”

She continued, “This case shows the extremity of unchecked government censorship in the online age. The world must take note.”

Abdo’s medical conditions surrounding his heart and liver were reportedly ignored while he was detained, adding to charges of unfair treatment.

United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has also covered Abdo’s plight, noting in a profile that he was accused of “blasphemy terrorism” and was detained “for his religious conversion.”

He was officially charged with joining a terrorist group, discrimination against Islam, and contempt of Islam, according to the government body.

“On Dec. 15, 2021, authorities arrested Abdo, a Yemeni refugee, from his Cairo home,” the USCIRF profile reads. “Abdo’s arrest followed his appearance on a Christian TV channel talking about his conversion to Christianity and alleged persecution Christians in Yemen face. Abdo had also been involved in Facebook groups for Christian converts.”

While incarcerated, he was reportedly put into solitary confinement last year after another inmate claimed he was copying Bible verses on scrap paper.

“I endured many hardships in prison,” Abdo told ADF International. “It isn’t right that a government should tear me away from my family, keep me in these awful conditions, only because of the faith in which I peacefully choose to believe.”

He expressed gratitude for those who have prayed for him throughout the ordeal and who have expressed joy over his newfound freedom.

Despite being released, Abdo’s case remains open, according to ADF International.

It should be noted that Abdo’s problems began well before his Egyptian arrest and detention, as he was reportedly forced to flee Yemen after converting to Christianity. Then, in Egypt, his problems intensified.

Egypt ranks 40th on the 2025 “World Watch List,” an annual report from Open Doors USA that ranks the worst places in the world to be a Christian. Just 9% of the Egyptian population is Christian and they face “discrimination in their communities,” according to Open Doors.

“Christian women are harassed on the streets, especially in rural areas, and Christian children are bullied at school,” the report reads. “Sometimes Muslim mobs force Christians to leave their homes after accusations of blasphemy. These incidents mostly happen in Upper Egypt, where radical Islamist groups are active.”
Sources:faithwire

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Egyptian authorities have released Christian convert Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo, who spent three years in prison for his Facebook posts about leaving Islam. He was detained for participating in a private online group discussing Christian faith, and his legal case remains ongoing.

Legal advocacy group ADF International announced the release of Abdo, a husband and father of five, on Sunday, noting that he fled Yemen after facing death threats following his conversion and registered as an asylum seeker with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Egypt.

In 2021, local authorities took him into custody, referring to his involvement in online discussions about Christian teachings and Islamic theology as grounds for his arrest. Before this release, Abdo was transferred through multiple detention facilities and experienced poor health tied to his heart, liver and kidneys.

Within the final six months of his imprisonment, he launched a hunger strike against conditions he deemed unjust.

“I endured many hardships in prison. It isn’t right that a government should tear me away from my family, keep me in these awful conditions, only because of the faith in which I peacefully choose to believe,” Abdo was quoted as saying. “I thank everyone who prayed for me while I was in prison, cared about and followed up on my case, and shared the joy of my release from prison.”

ADF International submitted his case to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. Although his release has removed him from prison, the legal proceedings against him have not concluded, said the group.

His son, Husam Baqi, expressed frustration at the lack of freedom to believe and speak openly about personal convictions. “It is hideous that individuals are not allowed to believe and express their beliefs freely and are imprisoned or killed for their faith,” he was quoted as saying.

“The arbitrary detention of this husband and father without a criminal trial, and the lack of an opportunity for him to defend himself against alleged offenses, constitutes a severe violation of human rights,” said ADF International’s Director of Advocacy for Religious Freedom, Kelsey Zorzi.

During the detention, Abdo received moral support from Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.

Characterizing Abdo’s treatment as “grotesque,” she called his imprisonment “a surreal example of censorial blasphemy policies in action.” Ali, once widely identified as an atheist, announced last November that she was becoming a Christian. “This is the logical conclusion to a trend that empowers authorities to brutalize innocent people for free expression on social media. From China to Pakistan, from Russia to Syria, from the U.K. to Egypt — free speech must urgently be defended from our age’s resurgent Stalinism.”

Ali, who has been vocal on global rights issues, also faces threats because of her criticisms of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Sources:Christian Post

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ലാഹോർ: പാക്കിസ്ഥാനില്‍ മഅറസ്റ്റിലായ ഇരട്ട ക്രൈസ്തവ സഹോദരങ്ങള്‍ക്കു നേരെയുള്ള മതനിന്ദ കേസ് വ്യാജമാണെന്ന് തെളിഞ്ഞതിനെ തുടര്‍ന്നു ഇരുവര്‍ക്കും മോചനം. കേസ് തെളിയിക്കുന്നതിൽ പ്രോസിക്യൂഷൻ പരാജയപ്പെട്ടതിനാൽ, തെറ്റായ ദൈവനിന്ദ ആരോപണത്തിൽ നിന്ന് പാകിസ്ഥാനിലെ കസൂർ അഡീഷണൽ സെഷൻസ് ജഡ്ജി ഫർസാന ഷഹ്സാദ് ഇവരെ വെറുതെവിടുകയായിരിന്നു. 18 വയസ്സുള്ള സാഹിൽ ഷാഹിദ് , റഹീൽ ഷാഹിദ് എന്നിവര്‍ക്കാണ് വിചാരണയില്‍ മോചനം ലഭിച്ചതെന്ന് അഭിഭാഷകൻ ജാവേദ് സഹോത്ര പറഞ്ഞു. പഞ്ചാബ് പ്രവിശ്യയിലെ കസൂർ ജില്ലയിലെ ഖുലേ വാല ഗ്രാമത്തിലെ സഹോദരങ്ങൾ ഖുറാന്‍ അവഹേളിച്ച് മതനിന്ദ നടത്തിയെന്നായിരിന്നു കേസ്. കഴിഞ്ഞ ഓഗസ്റ്റ് 27 ന് ഖുർആനിൻ്റെ പേജുകൾ കീറിയെന്നാരോപിച്ച് ഷാഹിദ് സഹോദരന്മാരെ അറസ്റ്റ് ചെയ്തു മതനിന്ദ കുറ്റം ചുമത്തുകയായിരിന്നു.

അന്വേഷണ ഉദ്യോഗസ്ഥനും പരാതിക്കാരനും ഉൾപ്പെടെ എട്ട് സാക്ഷികളുടെ ക്രോസ് വിസ്താരത്തിനിടെ, ഏത് ഖുറാൻ ഭാഗമോ വാക്യങ്ങളോ അപകീർത്തിപ്പെടുത്തിയെന്ന് ആർക്കെങ്കിലും തിരിച്ചറിയാൻ കഴിയുമോ എന്ന ചോദ്യത്തിന് മുന്നില്‍ വ്യക്തമായ ഉത്തരം നല്‍കാന്‍ പ്രോസിക്യൂഷന് കഴിയാതെ പോകുകയായിരിന്നു. ഇത് സഹോദരന്മാർക്കെതിരെ സമർപ്പിച്ച തെളിവുകൾ കെട്ടിച്ചമച്ചതാണെന്ന് തുറന്നുക്കാട്ടുകയായിരിന്നുവെന്ന് അഭിഭാഷകൻ സഹോത്ര മോണിംഗ് സ്റ്റാർ ന്യൂസിനോട് പറഞ്ഞു. ക്രൈസ്തവ സഹോദരങ്ങളെ വിട്ടയച്ചത് കൂടാതെ ദുർബ്ബലമായ അന്വേഷണം നടത്തിയതിന് കസൂർ ജില്ലാ പോലീസ് ഓഫീസർക്ക് കോടതി നോട്ടീസ് നൽകുകയും ചെയ്തിട്ടുണ്ട്.

ക്രൈസ്തവരില്‍ ഭയം ജനിപ്പിച്ച് ഗ്രാമം വിട്ടുപോകാൻ നിർബന്ധിക്കുക എന്ന ലക്ഷ്യത്തോടെയാണ് സഹോദരങ്ങൾക്കെതിരെ കള്ളക്കേസ് ചുമത്തിയതെന്നു പ്രതിഭാഗം കോടതിയെ അറിയിച്ചു. ഈ കേസ് ക്രൈസ്തവ നിവാസികൾക്കെതിരായ ഗൂഢാലോചനയാണെന്ന് വിശ്വസിക്കുന്നുണ്ടെന്നും നിക്ഷിപ്ത താൽപ്പര്യങ്ങൾക്ക് അവരുടെ ഭൂമിയും സ്വത്തുക്കളും തട്ടിയെടുക്കാനുള്ള ശ്രമമാണ് ഇതിലൂടെ വ്യക്തമാകുന്നതെന്നും വിജയകരമായ പ്രതിരോധം ഉണ്ടായതിനാലാണ് അവരുടെ നീചമായ ആശയങ്ങളെ ഇല്ലാതാക്കുവാന്‍ കഴിഞ്ഞതെന്നും അഡ്വ. സഹോത്ര പറഞ്ഞു. പാക്കിസ്ഥാനില്‍ ക്രൈസ്തവരെ കുടുക്കാന്‍ വ്യാജ മതനിന്ദ കേസുകള്‍ ആരോപിക്കുന്നത് പതിവ് സംഭവമാണ്. ഇതിന്റെ ഏറ്റവും ഒടുവിലത്തെ ഉദാഹരണമാണ് ക്രൈസ്തവ സഹോദരങ്ങള്‍ക്ക് നേരെയുള്ള കേസ്.
കടപ്പാട് :പ്രവാചക ശബ്ദം

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