Egyptians in exile fear losing citizenship
The Egyptian government has revoked the citizenship of leading Egyptian activist Ghada Naguib, who has been living in self-exile in Turkey since 2016, raising concerns among human rights activists about the issuance of similar decisions against dozens of activists abroad.
CAIRO — Egypt’s Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly recently issued a decision to revoke the nationality of Ghada Naguib, an opposition political activist and the wife of well-known artist Hisham Abdallah, both of whom have lived in Turkey for several years.
The decision, published in the official gazette Dec. 24, reads that Naguib’s Egyptian nationality was withdrawn based on the grounds that she was convicted of a felony to harm the Egyptian state’s security while residing abroad. The decision also stated that Naguib is a Syrian national.
Naguib left the country in January 2016 along with her husband, who works as a TV host at the Egyptian opposition al-Sharq channel in Turkey, after Abdallah was accused of a number of political issues. They have been residing in Istanbul since then.
Speaking to Al-Monitor virtually, Naguib rejected the decision to revoke her nationality, saying it is a mere political decision that will not make her a non-Egyptian citizen, adding that she will continue to oppose the regime of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
