AHMED
ABDELSATTAR AMASHA
Ahmed Abdelsattar Amasha is a lawyer, trade unionist, and environmental defender who documented enforced disappearances and torture in Egypt. He was disappeared in March 2017 and has been held in pre-trial detention ever since.
- Country
- Egypt
- Role
- Doctor
- Arrested
- 10 Mar 2017
- Held at
- Badr City - Badr 1 Prison
Silhouette in place of portrait. No image is published without explicit consent from the defender or their family.
Held without verdict for
Three thousand three hundred+ days.
Days in pre-trial detention since the morning of 10 March 2017. Counter live · updates daily at 00:00 UTC
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Arrest
Arrest and enforced disappearance
Security forces arrested Ahmed Abdelsattar Amasha. He was held incommunicado in an undisclosed location, with his family denied any information about his whereabouts or condition.
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Reappearance
Reappearance before State Security Prosecution
Amasha was brought before the State Security Prosecution and charged with terrorism-related offenses and membership in a banned organization. His lawyers were denied access to the evidence file.
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Arrest
Re-arrested from Helwan home; forcibly disappeared for 25 days
On 17 June 2020, Egyptian police forces stormed Dr Ahmed Amasha's home in Helwan, south of Cairo, and took him to an unknown location. His family lost contact with him; he was forcibly disappeared for 25 days before being brought before the Supreme State Security Prosecution (SSSP) on 12 July 2020. Sources: MENA Rights Group, CIHRS, UN Special Rapporteurs joint communication, Alkarama.
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Case update
Charged with "joining a terrorist group"
On 12 July 2020, Egypt's Supreme State Security Prosecution charged Dr Amasha with "joining a terrorist group." Sources: MENA Rights Group, UN SR communication.
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Case update
Referred to terrorism circuit; added to Case 1360/2019
On 29 August 2022, Dr Amasha was referred to the terrorism circuit of the Supreme State Criminal Court on charges of "knowingly joining and funding a terrorist group," and his name was added to the existing Case No 1360/2019, which includes 37 other defendants. Sources: MENA Rights Group, ICJ "Shackling Dissent" report.
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Case update
Transferred to Badr prison; held in solitary
In September 2022, Dr Amasha was transferred from Tora high-security prison to the new Badr prison, located about 65 km east of Cairo. He has been held in isolation, in a cell with continuous electric lighting and 24-hour camera surveillance, with little time for outdoor exercise. His physical condition has been deteriorating: he suffers from diabetes and other age-related ailments and has not received adequate medical attention. Sources: UN SR communication, CIHRS, ISHR EndReprisals.
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Case update
Joins hunger strike in Badr prison
On 25 October 2022, Dr Amasha's family learned that he had joined other detainees in Badr prison in a hunger strike to protest prison conditions. Sources: MENA Rights Group.
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Case update
UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention finds detention arbitrary
In December 2025, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) issued Opinion 56/2025 (Egypt), finding Egypt's detention of human rights defender Ahmed Amasha arbitrary under international human rights law. The WGAD followed a petition filed by the Human Rights Foundation. Sources: OHCHR (WGAD Opinion 56/2025), Human Rights Foundation. (Day approximate.)
Approved
The arrest, and what followed.
Background and Work
Ahmed Abdelsattar Amasha practiced law in Egypt for over two decades, specializing in human rights cases and labor disputes. He was a founding member of the League for Families of the Disappeared, an organization that documented cases of enforced disappearance and provided legal support to families seeking information about missing relatives. His environmental activism focused on communities affected by industrial pollution and state-led development projects that displaced residents without compensation or consultation.
Amasha's legal work brought him into frequent conflict with security agencies. He filed habeas corpus petitions on behalf of disappeared detainees, challenged the legality of prolonged pre-trial detention, and documented patterns of torture in police stations and National Security Agency facilities. He represented workers dismissed for union organizing and defended protesters arrested during the 2011 uprising and its aftermath.
His advocacy extended beyond the courtroom. He gave interviews to international media, submitted testimony to United Nations human rights mechanisms, and collaborated with Egyptian and international human rights organizations to publish reports on state violence. This visibility made him a target.
Enforced Disappearance and Arrest
On 10 March 2017, security forces arrested Amasha. He was held incommunicado for an extended period, during which his family had no information about his whereabouts or condition. This enforced disappearance followed a pattern familiar to the cases he had documented: sudden arrest, transfer to an undisclosed location, denial of lawyer and family access, and eventual reappearance before prosecutors with charges already prepared.
When he was finally brought before the State Security Prosecution, he faced charges related to terrorism and membership in a banned organization. The charges relied on coerced confessions and testimony from undisclosed informants. His lawyers were denied access to the evidence file and prohibited from attending key interrogation sessions.
Prolonged Pre-Trial Detention
Amasha has been held in pre-trial detention since 2017, with his detention renewed every 45 days in routine hearings that last minutes. Egyptian law permits pre-trial detention for up to two years, but prosecutors circumvent this limit by closing one case file and opening another with identical charges, restarting the clock. Amasha's detention has been extended through this mechanism for more than eight years.
He is currently held in Badr 1 Prison in Badr City, a high-security facility northeast of Cairo. The prison is known for overcrowded cells, inadequate ventilation, and restricted family visits. Detainees report routine medical neglect and punitive isolation for those who file complaints.
Health and Detention Conditions
Amasha suffers from chronic health conditions that require regular medical attention. His family has reported that he has been denied access to specialist care and that prison medical staff provide only basic analgesics. He has lost significant weight, and his family fears his condition is deteriorating. Requests for independent medical evaluation have been refused.
Family visits are permitted irregularly and are conducted through glass partitions under constant surveillance. His lawyers have faced repeated obstacles in meeting with him, including unexplained denials of entry and transfers to remote facilities without prior notice.
International Response
United Nations human rights experts have called for Amasha's immediate release, describing his detention as arbitrary and his trial as fundamentally unfair. Human rights organizations have documented his case as emblematic of Egypt's systematic repression of lawyers and human rights defenders. His prolonged pre-trial detention, enforced disappearance, and reported torture violate multiple provisions of international human rights law to which Egypt is a party.
Despite international pressure, Egyptian authorities have shown no indication that they will release him or expedite his trial. His case remains in the pre-trial phase, with no verdict in sight.
Sources on file with HuMENA EditorialReading time · 6 minutes
Held in pre-trial detention for more than eight years, his case renewed in endless cycles without trial or verdict.HuMENA Editorial · 2026
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Compiled by HuMENA's Egypt research team from primary documentation, public filings, family-supplied legal documents, and confidential partner reporting. Editorial responsibility: HuMENA Editorial Board.
Editorial sign-off · published