Court postpones hearing of Christian convert facing false terrorism charges

A State Security Court in Cairo, Egypt has postponed the trial of Christian convert Saeid Mansour Abdulraziq until 6 September.

Mr Abdulraziq was arrested on 15 July 2025, shortly after he attempted to obtain new identification documents that confirmed his conversion to Christianity. On 22 July 2025 he appeared before the state security prosecution where he was charged with joining a terrorist organisation, stirring unrest and spreading false news. He has been in detention ever since.

As part of the ongoing proceedings, a court hearing was held on 15 June 2026 (Case No. 5664 of 2025, State Security), at which Mr Abdulraziq was present. The defence team was also present, along with representatives from several human rights organisations monitoring the case.

The hearing was scheduled to hear the testimony of prosecution witnesses and allow the defence to cross-examine them, in accordance with the court’s previous decision to summon them. However, this did not happen and the court decided to postpone the case.

Mr Abdulraziq’s lawyer Saeid Fayez said in a statement: ‘The stage of cross-examining witnesses and experts is one of the most crucial phases of a criminal trial, as it provides an opportunity to examine the evidence presented in the case and demonstrates its consistency with the established facts. Furthermore, it enables the defendant to exercise their fundamental right to a fair defence. The defence team continues to take all necessary legal measures to protect the rights of the defendant and ensure that the trial adheres to all legally and constitutionally guaranteed safeguards.’

CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas said: ‘Mr Abdulraziq has committed no crime and is essentially being tried for exercising his right to change religion, and for asking for this change to be recognised in his official documentation. Despite positive steps taken by the Egyptian authorities to advance the right to freedom of religion or belief in recent years, and the personal commitment of President Sisi to fight injustice and promote equality of citizenship, an unacceptable culture of intimidation and discrimination towards converts persists. We call upon the Egyptian authorities to ensure Mr Abdulraziq’s unconditional release, and to do more to tackle religious discrimination by ending policies and practices that underpin inequality. Every Egyptian citizen should be free to practice a religion or belief of their choosing without fear of official intimidation, societal threats, judicial harassment or physical violence.’