Women Journalists Without Chains has sharply criticized the arrest of prominent lawyer and former Egyptian Bar Association presidential contender Osama Fathi Al-Shishtawy, who was seized near his home on November 10 by a force widely believed to be linked to the National Security Agency.

According to the organization, Al-Shishtawy was initially taken to an undisclosed location before being brought before the Supreme State Security Prosecution, which ordered him held for 15 days pending investigation in Case No. 844/2025. Prosecutors have accused him of joining a banned group and disseminating false information—charges the rights group described as deliberately vague and routinely used to neutralize government critics.

The group noted that Al-Shishtawy’s detention occurred just 48 hours after he lodged a formal complaint warning that unidentified individuals had been monitoring him and that he feared for his safety. He subsequently disappeared under what Women Journalists Without Chains termed “enforced disappearance,” amid reports that he was verbally abused and beaten while in custody.

The organization said the case illustrates a widening campaign against lawyers and human-rights advocates in Egypt, where counterterrorism legislation is frequently used to suppress dissent and criminalize legitimate legal work. It argued that his arrest violates Article 54 of the Egyptian constitution, which guarantees personal liberty and immediate access to counsel, as well as Article 98 of the Bar Law, which protects lawyers from prosecution for statements made in the course of their professional duties. The group added that Egypt is further in breach of its commitments under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Al-Shishtawy’s arrest has triggered a strong backlash within the legal community. Members of the Bar Association Council and several senior attorneys issued statements denouncing the incident as an attack on the profession’s independence. Council member Amr El-Khashab said a formal complaint has been filed with the public prosecutor, declaring, “The Bar may suffer, but it will not die. Our unity is our strength. Enough arrests and violations.”

Human-rights lawyer Mohamed Ramadan warned that attorneys have become “the most targeted profession,” arguing that the fear of imprisonment is now discouraging lawyers from defending clients in politically sensitive cases.

Other rights groups, including Justice and the Committee for the Defense of Prisoners of Conscience, rejected the charges as baseless and politically motivated, saying that prosecuting lawyers weakens the core institutions of justice.

Women Journalists Without Chains called for Al-Shishtawy’s immediate and unconditional release, an independent investigation into his disappearance and alleged mistreatment, and credible guarantees for his personal safety and due-process rights. The organization urged Egyptian authorities to end the security prosecution of lawyers and human-rights defenders and to uphold the independence of the legal profession.

“The dignity of lawyers is the dignity of justice itself,” the group said in its closing statement. “Targeting those who defend the law undermines any official claim to respect rights and freedoms. Protecting lawyers is not optional—it is a constitutional duty and a safeguard against the abuse of power.”