Marwa Arafa

Background and Work

Marwa Arafa is a university professor of English literature and a translator whose civic engagement focused on supporting the families of individuals detained on political grounds. She helped cover the costs of prison visits for families who could not afford them and coordinated advocacy related to children's rights, particularly children affected by the detention of their parents.

Her case is part of a broader pattern in Egypt in which academics, researchers, and human rights defenders have been prosecuted under counterterrorism legislation and subjected to prolonged pre-trial detention as a de facto punitive measure.

The Arrest and Enforced Disappearance

On 20 April 2020, during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, security forces raided Marwa Arafa's home without presenting a judicial warrant. She was taken to an undisclosed location in front of her two-year-old daughter. For the next fourteen days, her whereabouts remained unknown. Her family filed complaints, but prosecutors did not investigate the disappearance.

She reappeared on 4 May 2020 before the Supreme State Security Prosecution and was assigned to Case No. 540. She was placed in pre-trial detention on charges of spreading false news, misusing social media, and joining and financing a terrorist group. She has remained in pre-trial detention since that day.

Prolonged and Unlawful Pre-Trial Detention

Marwa Arafa's detention has been renewed repeatedly and automatically, without meaningful judicial review. As of 2025, she has been held for more than five years — exceeding by more than double the two-year maximum limit prescribed under Egyptian criminal procedure law.

In July 2025, her trial began before the First Terrorism Circuit of the Cairo Criminal Court. She is being tried alongside dozens of co-defendants on charges related to alleged acts dating as far back as 2013. The court rejected defense requests for her release pending trial. Hearings have been repeatedly postponed.

Human rights organizations including the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights and Amnesty International have documented violations of fair trial guarantees before terrorism circuits in Egypt, including the denial of public hearings before independent and impartial tribunals, inadequate access to defense, and breaches of equality of arms.

Detention Conditions and Health

Marwa Arafa was initially held in Al Qanater Women's Prison from April 2020 until July 2023, when she was transferred to 10th of Ramadan Prison. At Al Qanater, prison officials reportedly failed to intervene when she was subjected to violence by other prisoners. Her requests to work in prison workshops for modest compensation were denied.

Since August 2025, authorities at 10th of Ramadan Prison have denied her daily exercise, in violation of Egyptian prison regulations and international standards on the treatment of prisoners. An independent physician consulted by her family confirmed that daily movement is medically necessary to prevent blood clots and further deterioration of her health.

In August 2025, she developed a serious medical condition initially diagnosed as a pulmonary embolism, later identified as a blood clot accompanied by severe anemia and respiratory distress. She collapsed in her cell and was briefly transferred to the prison hospital, which lacked adequate equipment and specialized staff. Despite ongoing symptoms consistent with a life-threatening condition, authorities have repeatedly refused to transfer her to an external hospital for proper diagnosis and treatment.

Prison authorities have required her family to provide medication and monitoring devices. Her lawyer has warned that the refusal to provide adequate medical care places her life at immediate risk. The continued denial of necessary care may amount to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.

Denial of Family Contact and Academic Rights

Marwa Arafa has been separated from her daughter since the child was eighteen months old. The girl, now eight, has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Restrictions on communication and visitation have deepened the separation, violating Marwa's right to family life and depriving her daughter of maternal care during critical developmental years.

Since 2023, repeated requests by her family and lawyers to allow her to sit for postgraduate examinations have been denied. Prison authorities have refused to implement prosecutorial authorizations granting legal visits by her lawyer. These measures represent unjustified interference with her academic freedom and her right to pursue higher education while in detention.

Legal Violations

Marwa Arafa's case involves multiple violations of domestic and international law. She was subjected to enforced disappearance following her arrest. Her pre-trial detention has exceeded the legal maximum by more than two and a half years. She has been denied adequate medical care, subjected to inhumane conditions of detention, and deprived of meaningful contact with her family and legal counsel.

Her trial has been marked by repeated delays and the rejection of release requests despite clear breaches of Egyptian criminal procedure law. The proceedings fail to meet international standards for fair trial guarantees under Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The Egyptian authorities bear full responsibility for her health, safety, and fundamental rights for as long as she remains in custody.