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 | UNHCR , IFRC
Death and destruction have continued unabated in Lebanon while communities are still unable to return to their homes despite a ceasefire that began on 17 April, humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Deadly hantavirus on board cruise ship may be transmitted among humans - WHO
Hantavirus victims on a ship in the Atlantic Ocean may have been infected prior to joining the cruise and human-to-human transmission on board cannot be ruled out – although it is rare - the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN rights chief concerned by upheld convictions of Cambodian activists.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR , OHCHR
Middle East crisis puts aid, food, fuel further out of reach for millions already struggling – UN agencies
As the Middle East crisis continues the humanitarian fallout is worsening, with aid route disruptions and food and fuel price hikes wrecking the lives and rights of the most vulnerable, UN agencies warned on Friday.
1
1
2
Edited News | UNMAS
Demining experts from around the world have been sharing their collective shock at the widespread and growing threat from unexploded ordnance, the new head of the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) said on Wednesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office in Syria conducted a 5-day visit to the northeast of the country where they received accounts of human rights violations and abuses.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
Sudan: ‘History repeating itself’ for Darfur’s children - UNICEF
Mass atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur 20 years ago reverberated as far as Hollywood, but today, a new generation of children faces attacks, hunger and displacement in an emergency largely ignored by the outside world, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNMAS
Desperate and dangerous conditions in Gaza continue to hamper recovery efforts for the wartorn enclave's people, the UN health agency said on Friday, while demining experts warned that they’ve “barely scratched the surface” in assessing the level of contamination of unexploded ordnance.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News
The continued support of UN Member States to Lebanon will be “indispensable” to boost the country’s national armed forces and provide humanitarian assistance with more than one million people still uprooted by the Middle East war, the UN's peacekeeping chief said on Wednesday.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | UNECE
Middle East war: After oil and gas shortages, concerns grow over critical minerals crunch
The shipping crisis in the Strait of Hormuz caused by war in the Middle East has exposed a new threat: a looming shortage of strategic minerals needed to drive economies all over the world and a race by countries to obtain them.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM
Millions of desperate Sudanese return home amid dire conditions as war rages – IOM
Three years into the devastating conflict in Sudan, nearly four million displaced people have returned to their places of origin across the country, only to face “another struggle for survival”, the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNESCO
UNESCO protects cultural sites in war-torn Middle East, confirming damage to key heritage.