Brazilian social media commentator defending free speech in Brazil
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Nicki Gaylard: Australia
Mother of six, Nicki Gaylard, is considering legal action against the Department of Education following a presentation that exposed Year 9 girls – including her daughter, aged 14 – to highly inappropriate and explicit sexual content without parental knowledge or consent.
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Continue readingAbdulbaqi Saeed Abdo: Egypt
Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo: Egypt
Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo now freed from prison for sharing his religious beliefs
- Who: Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo
- Where: Egypt
- Advocacy Team: Kelsey Zorzi, Elizabeth Francis
UPDATE, FEB. 2, 2025:
The father of 5 imprisoned for participating in a private Facebook group about converting to Christianity from Islam has been freed from detention after 3 years – but his case remains open.
Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo, originally from Yemen, was part of a Christian Facebook group that discussed Islamic theology and apologetics. In 2021, Abdo was arrested while he was living as a UNHCR-registered asylum seeker in Egypt. He had originally fled to Egypt because he faced death threats in Yemen after converting to Christianity.
Topic | Religious Freedom
The Egyptian government is bound under the Constitution and international law to recognize the fundamental rights to religious freedom, free speech, and a fair trial. While these rights must be upheld and protected, Egyptian authorities continue to act with hostility toward Christians and other religious minorities.
Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo is a victim of these human rights injustices. Abdulbaqi was arrested for his involvement with a Facebook page that seeks to minister to Christians who have converted from Islam. The authorities arrested him on fabricated verbal charges of blasphemy for facilitating conversations online with converts, and held him in pre-trial detention for over 3 years, since 2021.
ADF International has supported his legal defense and joined religious freedom leaders from the international community in demanding his release. Abdulbaqi was freed in January 2025 and has been safely reunited with his family. His case remains open before the State Security authorities, however, and ADF International will continue to support him with future legal developments.
“The arbitrary detention of Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo without a criminal trial and the lack of an opportunity for him to defend himself against his alleged offenses constitutes a severe violation of his human rights. The peaceful expression of one’s religious convictions should not lead someone to be detained for years. No one should be imprisoned for supporting Christian converts, let alone be told that they are a national security risk for expressing their beliefs.”
Elizabeth Francis, Legal Counsel for ADF International’s Global Religious Freedom team
"The peaceful expression of one’s religious convictions should not lead someone to be detained for years. No one should be imprisoned for supporting Christian converts, let alone be told that they are a national security risk for expressing their beliefs.”
Case Summary
Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo was arrested in 2021 for his involvement with a Facebook page that is dedicated to supporting people who have converted from Islam to Christianity. Authorities arrested him after discovering his affiliation with the page, spuriously linking his involvement with terrorism activities in order to justify his continued detention without trial.
Over 3 years, Abdulbaqi was regularly moved around to different detention centers while awaiting his repeatedly postponed criminal trial. In addition to the very poor conditions that negatively impacted his physical health, he was regularly denied private visits from his family and legal counsel. This meant that essential supplies could not be delivered and he could not communicate with his lawyers in a secure environment.
Abdulbaqi, a Christian convert who had fled to Egypt from Yemen when his life was in danger, was arrested in December 2021 for his connection to the Facebook page and his public television evangelism. He was subsequently transferred to various detention cells despite suffering from severe medical issues. He was only allowed occasional visits from his wife and children, including his son who was born while he was in detention.
In August 2024, Abdulbaqi wrote a devastating letter to his family in which he vowed to strike in stages until he made the strike “complete,” including turning away healthcare treatment and, eventually, food. He is now living in safety in a third country.
ADF International supported Abdulbaqi’s legal defense with his lawyers and advocated for his release by submitting information to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and other international religious freedom experts, arguing that he had been deprived of his right to religious freedom and a fair trial under international law.
Thanks to the persistent international advocacy of ADF International and our partner organisations, Abdulbaqi was finally released and safely reunited with his family in January 2025. We continue to fight for justice in his case.
Updates
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