Egyptian attorney Mohammed Al-Baqir has long championed human rights activists there, despite the constant danger of punishment by the regime. In the course of defending one of his clients, he was jailed along with the client.

Accused of “spreading false news that undermines national security,” Al-Baqir was confined to a cell without a cot, without access to his own lawyer, to medical care, to COVID vaccines or face masks, even to books and family photos. He was not permitted to see his dying father. There is an international outcry for his release.