Human Rights Watch is calling for the release of 2 translators

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Human Rights Watch called on the Egyptian authorities to release two translators who were arrested last week, Marwa Arafa and Kholoud Said. The organisation said that the Egyptian authorities should release them or provide evidence to the judicial authorities that they have committed criminal acts.

Kholoud appeared in the Supreme State Security Prosecution in the Fifth Assembly, a week after she was arrested from her house in Alexandria and forcibly disappeared. The prosecution imprisoned her for 15 days pending case No. 588 of 2020, on charges of joining a terrorist group and promoting its ideas and broadcasting false news and data.

Marwa Arafa is still forcibly disappeared and has not been brought before the prosecution office yet.

Despite the calls of human rights organisations to release the detainees in anticipation of an outbreak of coronavirus in prison, Egyptian security services carried out several arrest campaigns against activists in different governorates last month.

According to human rights estimates, the number of political detainees in Egypt reaches about 60,000.