Christian convert imprisoned in Egypt declares hunger strike; advocates urge his release

(OSV News) -- A Christian convert in Egypt who has been imprisoned for more than two years for publicly speaking about his conversion has declared a hunger strike, prompting religious freedom advocates to increase their calls for his release.

In a heart-wrenching letter to his wife and five children, Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo said he began a partial strike Aug. 7 by refusing medical care "from the person who is responsible for healthcare in the prison."

A translation of the letter was published Aug. 15 by the religious freedom advocacy group ADF International.

"I am going to increase my strike in stages until it will be total during the coming weeks. And the reason of my strike (is) that they arrested me without any legal justification or that they convicted me for any violation of the law. And they did not set me free during my remand imprisonment which was ended 8 months ago," he wrote.

According to a report by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, or USCIRF, authorities arrested Abdo, a registered asylum-seeker under international law living in Egypt, in December 2021 after he appeared on a Christian TV channel discussing his conversion from Islam to Christianity and the persecution Christians face in his native country of Yemen.

Another Christian convert, Nour Girgis, was also arrested by authorities for his participation in the TV program.

"Abdo had also been involved in Facebook groups for Christian converts," USCIRF stated. "He was charged with joining a terrorist group … contempt of Islam … and discrimination against Islam."

Since his arrest, the commission said, the Yemeni convert's health deteriorated in prison and was denied medical treatment in April 2024 "after reporting chest pains."

The following month, Abdo was placed in solitary confinement after a fellow inmate "reported him for copying Bible verses on scraps of paper" and his family was denied visitation, prompting him to declare a hunger strike for his prolonged imprisonment.

"Nobody should be imprisoned for expressing their Christian beliefs in a social media post. This devastating cry for help from Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo must not be ignored, and it is past time for Egyptian authorities to release him and Nour Girgis from their unwarranted and unlawful detention," said Kelsey Zorzi, director of advocacy for global religious freedom at ADF International.

"We are utilizing every mechanism available to ensure that both men are released and returned to their families," she said in a statement released Aug. 15.

Zorzi said the detainment of the two Christian converts exposed the abuse of Egyptian law "to punish those with minority views and beliefs" and the governments around the world are failing to uphold freedom of religion and speech which allows "rampant criminalization of social media posts and religious practice to go unchecked."

"Whether in the Middle East, Europe or elsewhere, we must urgently do better to protect basic human rights, and allow each individual to freely hold and express their own beliefs," she said.

ADF International also published a statement by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Global Human Rights Subcommittee and co-chairman of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, who called Abdo’s imprisonment "a grave and grotesque violation of his human rights."

"I appeal to the government to release Abdo into a safe situation, and I appeal to UNHCR to protect and prioritize vulnerable or endangered applicants, including Christian converts from Islam and those accused of blasphemy," Smith said.

ADF International said it is currently involved in efforts to secure Abdo and Girgis’ release and that the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention as well as the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief received information regarding their imprisonment and the denial of "their right to religious freedom and a fair trial under international law."