Campaigning 2021

Abdelrahman “Moka” Tarek is a human rights defender from Egypt, who focuses on defending the right to freedom of expression and the rights of prisoners.

Tarek has experienced frequent harassment from the Egyptian authorities as a result of his work in defence of freedom of expression. In 2012, he was accused of organising a peaceful demonstration without a permit and subsequently placed in detention for five months. He was detained for four years on the same charge between 2015 and 2018, during which he was subject to frequent torture and solitary confinement.

In September 2019, Tarek was arbitrarily detained and tortured by the Egyptian security forces. Since then he spent several extended periods of time in prison, during which he was subject to ill-treatment including the use of electric shocks. His family have not been allowed to visit him since March 2019 and he has only had limited access to his lawyer. Tarek’s mental and physical health has suffered as a result of the prolonged imprisonment and systematic mistreatment. 

He has remained in prison since September 2020 and in December 2020, a new case was brought against him on terrorism-related charges. On the same day as the new case was brought, he began a hunger strike to protest the Prosecutor General’s decision. In January 2021, he was transferred to the prison hospital due to a deterioration in his health caused by a hunger strike lasting 53 days. He remains in prison.