The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan on “rotation” practice by Egyptian Government that facilitates detention of critics arbitrarily and for prolonged periods.
“We call on Egyptian authorities to put an end to the practice known as “rotation”, which allows Government critics to be held arbitrarily and for prolonged periods, even after serving their sentences or completing maximum pretrial detention,” UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said.
“Human rights defenders, activists, lawyers, journalists, peaceful protesters and political opponents have been targeted by this “rotation” practice. It entails the authorities bringing new charges against individuals when they are about to complete their prison sentences or as they reach the maximum legal period of pretrial detention, thus preventing their release,” he told reporters at the UN bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
The latest case concerns poet Galal El-Behairy, who was arbitrarily detained after completing a prison term on 31 July 2021 for writing songs and poetry critical of the Government. Since then, he has faced similar charges in two different cases under the counter-terrorism law and the penal code. The latest charges were brought against him on 19 August 2025, extending his detention for at least 15 more days.
In addition to El-Behairy’s case, this practice has been used in the case of writer and activist Alaa Abdel Fattah; lawyer and former member of the National Council for Human Rights, Hoda Abdel-Moneim; lawyer and coordinator of the Association of the Families of the Forcibly Disappeared, Ebrahim Metwally Hegazy; andpolitical activist and former spokesperson for the 6th of April Youth Movement, Mohammad Adel Fahmy Ali. All of them remain in arbitrary detention.
“Most of those targeted by “rotation” should not have been detained or jailed in the first place, as the charges brought against them are often related to the exercise of their legitimate rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. It has become a tool by which the Egyptian Government represses those perceived to be critical of its policies,” Al-Kheetan said.
It is crucial that Egyptian authorities ensure that the application of counterterrorism or other criminal laws is never used to punish people for exercising their basic human rights.
“The Egyptian Government must immediately stop this practice of “rotation” and release all those who have been subjected to it. All those arbitrarily detained for exercising their fundamental freedoms or defending human rights must be released immediately,” the spokesperson stated.
For more information and media requests, please contact
Ravina Shamdasani: +41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org
Jeremy Laurence: +41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org
Thameen Al-Kheetan: +41 22 917 4232 / thameen.alkheetan@un.org
Tag and share - Twitter: @UNHumanRights and Facebook: unitednationshumanrights
STORY: UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan on “rotation” practice by Egyptian Government that facilitates detention of critics arbitrarily and for prolonged periods
TRT: 01:49
SOURCE: OHCHR/ UNOG
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 26 August 2025 – GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior shot: Palais des Nations
- Wide shots: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Thameen Al-Kheetan, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “We call on Egyptian authorities to put an end to the practice known as “rotation”, which allows Government critics to be held arbitrarily and for prolonged periods, even after serving their sentences or completing maximum pretrial detention.”
- Cutaways:
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Thameen Al-Kheetan, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “Human rights defenders, activists, lawyers, journalists, peaceful protesters and political opponents have been targeted by this “rotation” practice. It entails the authorities bringing new charges against individuals when they are about to complete their prison sentences or as they reach the maximum legal period of pretrial detention, thus preventing their release.”
- Cutaways:
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Thameen Al-Kheetan, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “Most of those targeted by “rotation” should not have been detained or jailed in the first place, as the charges brought against them are often related to the exercise of their legitimate rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. It has become a tool by which the Egyptian Government represses those perceived to be critical of its policies.”
- Cutaways:
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Thameen Al-Kheetan, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “The Egyptian Government must immediately stop this practice of “rotation” and release all those who have been subjected to it. All those arbitrarily detained for exercising their fundamental freedoms or defending human rights must be released immediately.”
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Volker Türk the UN Human Rights High Commissioner made the following remarks during and Oral update tothe Human Rights Council intersessional meeting on Venezuela.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
New flu variant is surging, but vaccination still our best bet - WHO
Amid an early start to the Northern Hemisphere influenza season a new variant of the virus is rapidly gaining ground - but vaccination remains the “most effective defence”, the UN health agency said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
In Sudan, deep concerns persist for the many tens of thousands of people believed to still be trapped in the city of El Fasher in the Darfur region, but UN aid agencies believe they may soon get access to the embattled city.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Human rights are underfunded, under attack and undermined worldwide, but activism is still powerful, undeterred and mobilising, says UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Human Rights Day press conference
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
Gaza newborns ‘scarred by war before first breath’ by preventable maternal malnutrition: UNICEF
Starving mothers in Gaza are giving birth to underweight or premature babies who die in intensive care units or struggle to survive as they endure acute malnutrition, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango delivered the following remarks on Friday at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA
The humanitarian situation in northern Mozambique continues to deteriorate sharply as prolonged attacks by non-State armed groups in Nampula trigger one of the largest displacement surges of the year, the UN warned on Friday.
1
1
Edited News | UNMAS
The deadly legacy of conflicts old and new from Gaza to Sudan and beyond continues to kill and maim civilians on a near-daily basis, mine action workers said on Wednesday, as they appealed for greater support for their lifesaving work in a context of deep funding cuts.
1
1
1
Edited News | WMO , UNICEF
Asia: Lives upended in cyclone disasters, ‘extreme’ rainfall on the rise - UN agencies
Across southeast Asia, record-breaking rains and flooding caused by back-to-back tropical storms have claimed hundreds of lives and brought devastation and displacement upon entire communities, UN agencies said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press briefing in the Geneva on Friday the UN Human Rights Office raised grave concerns about the recent constitutional amendments adopted in Pakistan.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva, UN Human Rights Spokesperson made the following comment on the most recent killings in the occupied West Bank yesterday.