Gender: Female
Current Location: Mai Serwa Prison
Perpetrator: Eritrea
Religion or Belief: Christian – Jehovah's Witness
Reports of Torture: Yes
Reports of Medical Neglect: Yes
Date of Detainment: November/1/2024
Current Status: Not Released
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment
Sidon Tekeste
Extra Bio Info:
Sidon Tekeste is detained for her religious belief and activity.
In November 2024, authorities arrested Tekeste at school for respectfully refusing to contribute to a political fund. Authorities confined her in Mai Serwa Prison without charge or trial. Prison authorities have repeatedly denied her medical care and subjected her to other forms of mistreatment.
Gender: Female
Current Location: Adi Abeto Prison
Perpetrator: Eritrea
Religion or Belief: Christian – Jehovah's Witness
Reports of Torture: Yes
Reports of Medical Neglect: Yes
Date of Detainment: September/27/2024
Current Status: Not Released
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment
Letebrhan Tesfay
Extra Bio Info:
Letebrhan Tesfay is detained for her religious activity.
In September 2024, police officers arrested 85-year-old Letebrhan Tesfay while raiding her home as she hosted a peaceful religious gathering. Tesfay, baptized in 1957, was one of the first Jehovah's Witnesses in Eritrea. Authorities confined her in Adi Abeto Prison without charge or trial.
Additional Name(s): Said Abdel-Razek; Saeid Mansour Abdulraziq
Gender: Male
Current Location: 10th of Ramadan Prison
Perpetrator: Egypt
Religion or Belief: Christian – Unspecified/Other
Reports of Torture: Yes
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment
Said Abdelrazek
Extra Bio Info:
Said Abdelrazek is detained for his religious conversion and activity.
After converting from Islam to Christianity in 2018, Abdelrazek was subject to various legal, social, and civil obstacles that presented significant challenges to his right to freedom of religion. In 2019, Abdelrazek left Egypt for Russia, where he sought asylum on religious grounds. In 2023, Russian authorities arrested Abdelrazek for his connection to a privately filmed video that was purportedly offensive to Islam.
In 2024, he was refouled to Egypt and detained by Egyptian authorities. He was held incommunicado for approximately 10 days. When communication resumed, Egyptian authorities interrogated him about his religious beliefs and pressured him to reconsider his faith, monitor other converts, and asked him to delete his social media accounts. Authorities ultimately released him with instructions not to speak publicly or proselytize.
In July 2025, Egyptian authorities detained Abdelrazek again without a warrant after he resumed posting about his religious beliefs online. On July 22, Egypt's Supreme State Security Prosecution charged him with "contempt for Islam," joining a banned terrorist organization, inciting unrest, and disseminating false information. During detention, authorities and inmates physically and psychologically abused Abdelrazek for his conversion.