Expelled Egyptian-Palestinian activist Ramy Shaath arrives in Paris
- Egyptian authorities deported Shaath after he served two-and-a-half years of pre-trial detention over allegations of having ties with an outlawed group, his family said
- Shaath was arrested in July 2019 and accused of having links to the Muslim Brotherhood, which the Egyptian government designated as a terrorist organisation
Egyptian-Palestinian human rights activist Ramy Shaath arrived in Paris and reunited with his wife on Saturday, after Egyptian authorities released him from prison and deported him.
An overjoyed Shaath, the son of a prominent Palestinian politician, walked out of the Charles de Gaulle airport smiling, holding hands with his wife, Céline Lebrun Shaath, a French national, and waving to a cheering crowd of supporters.
“I am very excited to be here,” Shaath said. Speaking in English, he described the network of overcrowded Egyptian prisons in which he had spent the last two and a half years as “lacking respect for human dignity.” However, his resolve has not been broken, Shaath said.
“I am continuing on my way. I am insisting on freeing my friends from Egyptian jails,” Shaath said.
“I have hope for a better Egypt,” Shaath said. “I have hope for an independent and secure Palestine and I have hope for a better Middle East and a better world we live in.”
French President Emmanuel Macron in a tweet welcomed the decision to release him, saying he was “relieved” and thanking those who contributed.
Egyptian authorities deported Shaath after he served two-and-a-half years of pre-trial detention over allegations of having ties with an outlawed group, his family said on Saturday. He was forced to renounce his Egyptian citizenship to gain his freedom, they added in a statement.
His father is Nabil Shaath, an adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.