UK urged to help free British-Egyptian ‘arrested in Cairo over sister’s activism’

The Guardian Politics Thursday 27 August 2026, 08:00 UTC By Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor 1 min read

Key Points

Lawyers claim Eman el-Shazly, from Birmingham, was detained in effort to silence her sister, a critic of Sisi regimeThe UK Foreign Office has been asked to intervene to secure the release of a British-Egyptian woman who it is claimed has been arrested in Cairo because of her sister’s political activism. Eman el-Shazly, a 45-year-old based in Birmingham, was arrested on 16 August while visiting Egypt. Her lawyers say she has been detained in an attempt to silence her sister Mona, a relentless...

Lawyers claim Eman el-Shazly, from Birmingham, was detained in effort to silence her sister, a critic of Sisi regime

The UK Foreign Office has been asked to intervene to secure the release of a British-Egyptian woman who it is claimed has been arrested in Cairo because of her sister’s political activism.

Eman el-Shazly, a 45-year-old based in Birmingham, was arrested on 16 August while visiting Egypt. Her lawyers say she has been detained in an attempt to silence her sister Mona, a relentless and harsh critic of the Egyptian government on her UK-based YouTube channel.

UK (LOCATION) British (ORG) Cairo (LOCATION) Eman el-Shazly (PERSON) Birmingham (LOCATION) Sisi regimeThe UK Foreign Office (ORG) Egypt (LOCATION) Mona (PERSON) Egyptian (ORG) YouTube (ORG)

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UK urged to help free British-Egyptian ‘arrested in Cairo over sister’s activism’

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