The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN) is deeply saddened to learn about the death of prominent Egyptian human rights defender Ahmed Seif el-Islam and extends its condolences to his family and friends.
One of the emblematic figures of Egyptian social activism, Seif el-Islam left us yesterday aged 63. He had been in coma for several days following heart surgery.
Seif el-Islam’s activism spanned four decades, during which he had advocated tirelessly for democracy, freedom and human rights. He stood up and defended many of those who shared his ideals, including his own son.
His passion and dedication for justice and human rights were transmitted to his family. He was both father and lawyer to Alaa Abdel Fatah el-Islam, a prominent activist sentenced to 15 years of prison for allegedly organising a protest. He is also the father of activist Sanaa Seif, jailed for protesting against her brother Alaa’s sentence. Seif el-Islam himself faced pressure and intimidation from successive governments and spent years in Egyptian prisons, both before and after the revolution.
Neither Alaa nor Sanaa could be at their father’s deathbed. Addressing his absent son, Seif el-Islam said before his death: “I wanted you to inherit a democratic society that guards your rights, my son, but instead I passed on the prison cell that held me, and now holds you.”
Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Seif el-Islam in theses hard times, and particularly to his son Alaa who has been on hunger strike since his last visit to his dying father, declaring, “I will no longer play the role they’ve written for me”.