How Sisi's regime in Egypt silences dissent through denaturalisation

In March, Egypt's official gazette published a decree from Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly's office stripping Mustafa Hussein of his citizenship. Hussein was in disbelief when a friend from Egypt called that evening to inform him of the decision.

Hussein, a native of Qena, a city situated roughly 577 kilometres south of Cairo, was shocked to learn he had lost his Egyptian citizenship under the pretext of “acquiring foreign nationality without prior authorisation”.

“I obtained French citizenship 17 years ago, but the Egyptian government only took notice that I received it ‘without permission’ after I began voicing political opinions against the ruling regime,” Hussein told The New Arab. “The regime's complete disregard for its citizens made me angry.”

Hussein is not the only Egyptian to have his citizenship revoked due to political reasons or opposition to Sisi’s regime. In August, the same happened with Wael al-Sedekki, a director known for his blogs opposing the Egyptian regime.

In recent years, the Egyptian government has increasingly used citizenship revocation as a tool to punish political opponents, particularly high-profile figures. To facilitate this, the authorities amended the law regulating Egyptian nationality in 2017, expanding the grounds for revoking citizenship.

These grounds now include “anyone against whom a court ruling proves their membership in any group, association, entity, organisation, gang, or any entity, regardless of its nature or legal or actual form, whether based inside or outside the country, aiming to harm the public order of the state, or undermine its social, economic, or political system by force or by any illegal means”.

It also applies to “anyone convicted of a crime that harms the state's security, whether internally or externally”.

Egyptian lawyer and legal researcher Ahmed al-Gadamy criticised these amendments as “unconstitutional,” arguing they violate Article 6 of the 2014 Egyptian Constitution, which states, “nationality is a right for anyone born to an Egyptian father or mother”.

He also emphasised that the constitution only allows “the legislator to regulate acquired nationality,” such as the naturalisation process for foreigners, not the original nationality.

“I was informed that my Egyptian citizenship had been revoked and was accused of insulting the political leadership. When I attempted to re-enter Egypt several months later, I was detained at Marsa Alam Airport and subsequently deported back to Paris,” Hussein told The New Arab.

Upon learning of the prime minister's decision to revoke his citizenship, Hussein filed an appeal through lawyers in Egypt to reclaim the citizenship he was “born with and takes pride in”.

He also challenged the constitutionality of the legislative amendment introduced by Sisi’s regime to the Egyptian Nationality Law, arguing that it is being used to “silence political opponents”.

In addition to revoking the citizenship of some opponents, the Egyptian authorities have coerced many imprisoned political dissidents with dual citizenship into renouncing their Egyptian nationality in exchange for their release.

This was the case for political activist Ramy Shaath, who was arrested in 2019 on charges of “assisting a terrorist group” and “spreading false news and information about the political and economic situation in the country to disturb public peace and undermine confidence in state institutions”.

After being detained for 900 days, Shaath was released in January 2022, but only after being forced to renounce his Egyptian nationality as a precondition for his release before being deported to France, where his family resides.

Shaath's experience has been echoed by other Egyptian prisoners, including political activist Mohamed Soltan and Al Jazeera journalist Mohamed Fahmy. In contrast, political activist and former detainee Aya Hijazi, who also holds American citizenship, refused to renounce her Egyptian nationality during her imprisonment, insisting on keeping it until her release, which was secured through pressure from former US President Donald Trump.

Since the 2017 amendment, the Egyptian government has issued numerous similar decisions, including stripping opposition member Ghada Naguib of her citizenship after her conviction for a crime deemed harmful to state security.

Naguib, who resides in Turkey, and her husband, actor Hesham Abdullah, were sentenced in absentia by an Egyptian court to five years in prison in 2019 on charges of joining an “organisation established in violation of the law” and spreading false news to undermine national security.

Human Rights Watch criticised the case, noting that it was based on claims by National Security officers about the accused's peaceful political activities, which violated fundamental rights, including freedom of association and expression. The organisation called for the court's rulings to be overturned.

Amr Hamzawy, Director of the Middle East Program and Senior Researcher at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace described these legislative amendments as “fascist,” arguing they give authoritarianism free rein to target dissidents with vague charges.

Hamzawy likened these practices to the legal tactics used by European fascist regimes like Nazi Germany, which also enacted “citizenship revocation” laws similar in text to the Egyptian amendments.

Hussein is fully aware that the true reason behind the revocation of his Egyptian citizenship has nothing to do with the lack of permission from the state.

“The real reasons behind this decision are my political opposition to the current regime and my declaration of intent to run for the presidency against al-Sisi after rejecting his illegitimate bid for a third term,” he told The New Arab.

Hussein was also involved in efforts to prevent the surrender of the Tiran and Sanafir islands. As one of the lead plaintiffs in the case against the president, he sought to nullify the border demarcation agreement with Saudi Arabia that ceded these two Egyptian islands.

“These amendments gave the administration the power to strip Egyptians of their citizenship based on vague and flexible criteria, which the Supreme Constitutional Court has repeatedly ruled unconstitutional,” al-Gadamy said, noting that criminal offences such as terrorism, murder, and high treason have specific punishments under the law, some of which are outlined in Law 26 of 1975.

“The addition of clauses like a conviction for joining a group - often a charge levelled against any opponent of the current regime - gives the authorities broad discretion to convict disfavoured Egyptians on ambiguous charges, stripping them of their citizenship,” he told The New Arab.

“This is also contrary to all UN conventions, as Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights prohibit the revocation of citizenship.”

Aly El-Raggal, a researcher in political sociology at the University of Florence, Italy, told The New Arab that the regime likely views citizenship revocation as “a punishment with various dimensions”.

“Primarily, the social impact of such a measure prevents the person from entering their country, keeps them away from their family, and completely severs their connection to their homeland,” he added.

El-Raggal added that the punishment also carries symbolic and moral weight, excluding the dissident whose citizenship has been revoked from the Egyptian community and tarnishing their reputation.

“This exclusion is an attempt to deny their right to comment on and participate in public affairs in Egypt or to oppose the ruling regime and its decisions,” he explained.

“The consequences of this decision, such as depriving a citizen of their constitutional and political rights, undermines the credibility of their positions and political opinions.”

This article is published in collaboration with Egab.