The Egyptian embassy is involved in the Saudi arrest of an Egyptian lawyer after seeking assistance for pilgrims!
Together for Justice strongly condemns the arrest of the Egyptian lawyer, Islam Osama Sobhi, in Saudi Arabia after he appeared in a video clip that was widely shared on social media platforms, calling on officials to rescue a number of pilgrims who were in a critical condition and in need immediate treatment before their deaths.
More than 1,300 pilgrims lost their lives during this year’s Hajj season as a result of shoddy planning and management, and the Saudi authorities purposefully left irregular pilgrims unaided as temperatures soared to over 51 degrees Celsius.
Islam Sobhi was one of the Egyptian pilgrims. He himself recorded that a great number of pilgrims passed out. He attacked the businesses that traded in these people’s lives and sent them to the Hajj without permission in a video that he shared on social media. He also urged authorities to dispatch ambulances to save the pilgrims who had perished and collapsed on the sides of the roads as the temperature sharply increased.
As a result, the Saudi authorities issued an arrest warrant for him. Islam then went to the Egyptian embassy to request assistance and intervention, citing the fact that the publication he had made was for humanitarian purposes rather than political ones, as claimed by the Saudi authorities. However, the Egyptian embassy declined to assist Islam, and he was eventually turned over to the Saudi authorities.
He claimed to have gone two days without eating or drinking in a video filmed by Islam on June 23, 2024 in front of the Egyptian embassy. He asked the embassy to either send him back to his native country or at the very least to step in and allow him to receive his treatment.
Islam’s father said that his son had cancer and that in order to prevent his health from declining, he needed to take his medication on time, finish his chemotherapy treatments, and be in a setting conducive to good health. However, the embassy declined to take action and turned the man over to the Saudi security services.
Considering that Islam Sobhi, an Egyptian lawyer, vowed to maintain total peace while exercising this right and did not break any laws or regulations during his time in Saudi Arabia for the Hajj, the decision to arrest him is unfair, capricious, and a blatant violation of his right to free speech.
We demand that Egyptian lawyer Islam Sobhi be released immediately and allowed to speak with an attorney. We hold the Saudi authorities responsible for the health and safety of this man. Furthermore, we demand that he receive the required medical care and be referred to a specialist doctor.
