Egypt releases human rights workers after international outcry
Gasser Abdel-Razek, Mohamed Basheer and Karim Ennarah left Tora Prison on Thursday, their organization confirmed.
Egypt has released three human rights campaigners whose arrests last month triggered widespread international condemnation, their organization said Thursday.
“I can confirm my friends and @eipr colleagues Gasser, Basheer and Karim have been released and are home which I guess means we (and you) managed to #FreeEIPRstaff,” tweeted Hossam Bahgat, the founder of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights.
Executive Director Gasser Abdel-Razek, Mohamed Basheer and Karim Ennarah returned home from the notorious Tora Prison complex in southern Cairo on Thursday, where they had been held on charges that included membership in a terrorist group and spreading false news. Lawyers for Abdel-Razek said he had been held in solitary confinement.
After the three were arrested last month in apparent retaliation for a Nov. 3 meeting their organization held with Western diplomats in Cairo, Egypt has faced sharp criticism from human rights groups, foreign governments and a number of Hollywood celebrities.
