FILE - In this Sept. 22, 2014 file photo, Alaa Abdel-Fattah, a leading pro-democracy activist, walks with his sister Mona Seif prior to a conference at the American University in Cairo, near Tahrir Square, Egypt. The family of Abdel-Fattah, who was arrested amid the recent clampdown that followed anti-government protests, says he was beaten, threatened and stripped to his underwear while in custody. Seif, a prominent human rights activist tweeted on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019, that her brother also told his lawyers that he was blindfolded and threatened that he would never set foot outside one of Cairo’s most notorious prisons. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty, File)
October 10, 2019 - 5:00 AM
CAIRO - The family of a leading Egyptian pro-democracy activist, who was arrested amid a recent clampdown following anti-government protests, says he was beaten, threatened and stripped to his underwear while in custody.
Mona Seif, a prominent human rights activist tweeted on Thursday that her brother Alaa Abdel-Fattah also told his lawyers he was blindfolded and threatened that he would never set food outside one of Cairo's most notorious prisons.
Abdel Fattah, who rose to prominence with the 2011 uprisings that swept the Middle East and in Egypt toppled long-time President Hosni Mubarak, was among more than 2,900 people who activists say were arrested since September protests demanding President Abdel-Fattah El-Sissi step down.
Earlier, Abdel-Fattah was released in March, after five years in prison for taking part in a peaceful protest.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019