The UK Foreign Office has been asked to intervene to secure the release of Eman el-Shazly, a British-Egyptian woman who her lawyers claim was arrested in Cairo because of her sister's political activism. Ms el-Shazly, 45, from Birmingham, was arrested on 16 August while visiting Egypt.
Her lawyers say she has been detained in an attempt to silence her sister Mona, who is a critic of the Egyptian government on her UK-based YouTube channel. The Foreign Office has confirmed to Ms el-Shazly's husband that she is being held in the Ramadan rehabilitation centre, and her case shares a file number with her two brothers, Hassan and Eid, who have previously been jailed and rearrested.
Arfan Rashid, a lawyer for Ms el-Shazly's husband, stated that Ms el-Shazly has not been involved in politics. He added that there is evidence she was arrested to silence Mona. The UK government recognised the practice of "punishment by proxy" in Egypt in its country profile policy and information note published in March 2026.
The UK's Foreign Office representation in Cairo has requested access to see Ms el-Shazly but has not yet received a positive reply. Ms el-Shazly's husband, Zeesharn Moustapha, said that Egyptian police and security officers visited the family home before her arrest, demanding she tell Mona to stop publishing material against the Egyptian government.