Dear friend, 

Imagine a team of masked men raiding your house in the middle of the night. They don’t identify themselves to you; they search your belongings without presenting a warrant and then arrest your husband. Shortly after, you are deported from the place you’ve called home for years. This is what happened to Celine Lebrun Shaath, the wife of Egyptian-Palestinian political prisoner Ramy Shaath. Ramy has been in pretrial detention for his human rights work since July 2019. Celine has only been able to speak to her husband on the phone twice and only allowed back to Egypt once to see him in prison a total of three times. Call on your representatives to stand up for human rights defender Ramy Shaath!

Ramy, while living in Egypt, is a Palestinian Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) activist. As a coordinator of BDS in Egypt, he stood up for Palestinian human rights. He has spent years being a peaceful human rights activist and now he and his wife are being severely punished for it by Egypt, the second-largest recipient of U.S. military assistance after Israel. Not only was he arrested and his wife illegally deported, but Ramy has even been added to a terrorist list which comes with a travel ban, an asset freeze, and a seizing of his Egyptian passport.

Sadly, prominent Palestinian activists being targeted for their relationships with the BDS movement is nothing new. On top of that, political repression in Egypt is becoming more and more concerning. Ramy Shaath is no terrorist. Ramy is a son, a husband, and a friend who peacefully advocates against apartheid. His wife Celine is joining me for a webinar this Saturday, April 11 at 1 PM ET to discuss Ramy’s arrest and detention. Join us and RSVP to Imprisoned in Egypt: Free Ramy Shaath.

Standing up for Palestine is always a brave act, especially when you are Palestinian. Please stand up for Ramy and make sure the people keeping him in prison know the whole world is watching and that we will not give up until there is justice for him and his family. Write to Congress and tell them that Ramy must be freed!

Toward peace,
Ariel, Ally, Ann, Carley, Ciara, Danaka, Emily, Farida, Grace, Jodie, Kelly, Leila, Leonardo, Madison, Mary, Marcy, Maxine, Medea, Michelle, Moses, Nancy, Paki, Sana, and Teri