Restrictions: Travel Ban |
Omar Hazek is a human rights defender, a renowned poet from Alexandria and an honorary member of the Austrian chapter of PEN International. He has been an outspoken critic of the use of torture by the Egyptian police and corruption in public institutions.
In 2013 he was sentenced to two years in prison for allegedly protesting without authorisation. He was released in February 2015 following a Presidential pardon.
On 14 January 2016, Hazek was on his way to The Hague to accept the 2016 Oxfam Novib/PEN Award for Freedom of Expression. The award is given annually to honour writers who have fought courageously for freedom of expression in the face of great adversity and despite the risk to their own lives. When he arrived at Cairo airport he was detained, questioned and later released after several hours of questioning, along with being given a travel ban.
In February 2017, Egyptian security services detained Hazek for several hours in an unknown location. He was released on the same day.