Egypt detains outspoken economist Abdel-Khalik Farouk, whereabouts unknown

Egyptian security forces detained prominent economist Abdel-Khalik Farouk late on Sunday from his house on the outskirts of Cairo and took him to an undisclosed location.

Farouk's arrest came after a series of articles and social media posts he had recently written, criticising controversial economic policies of President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi's government that led the country to, arguably, undergo the worst economic crisis in its modern history.   

"State security police forces are arresting now economic expert Dr Abdel-Khalik Farouk. I am his wife, Naglaa...[It is] around 11 PM on 20 October 2024," his wife Naglaa Salama wrote on his Facebook page during the raid.

Shortly afterwards, Salama wrote another post, confirming that authorities detained him, and confiscated drafts of his books and writings, his laptop and two mobile phones, and did not allow him to take his medications with him, which raised concerns about his well-being.

Salama said she delegated renowned lawyer Nasser Amin to represent her husband.

"Our office is in charge of defending... Abdel-Khalik Farouk, in case he is referred to any investigative authority or his disappearance continues. I hope…the crackdown of raids and arrests will eventually end," Amin wrote in a post on his Facebook page, without elaborating further.

Farouk's whereabouts remain unknown. Both Farouk's wife and lawyer were not reachable for comment.

Egypt's human rights record is regularly condemned by local and international groups, estimating that about 60,000 political prisoners are currently behind in the country, many facing abuse, torture, and medical neglect.

An educated troublemaker

The 67-year-old high-profile economist has been an outspoken critic of the policies of successive regimes since the era of late former autocrat Hosni Mubarak, followed by his successor, late ex-President Mohamed Morsi and now incumbent president Sisi.

Farouk wrote over 20 books throughout his pursuit, as he held several prestigious positions in both the public and private sectors over the past decades.    

But over the past 10 years, marking Sisi's reign, Farouk seems to have taken up the cause of exposing alleged public corrupt practices and mismanagement further. 

Farouk had earlier been detained on 21 October 2018, the day his controversial book, "Is Egypt really poor?" was published. But he was released eight days later.

In his book, which the authorities confiscated and banned, Farouk refutes Sisi's repeated argument about the country being poor and short of resources.

He eventually published a free PDF version of the book that was widely shared by activists online.

Activists united

Over the past decade, Sisi has often blamed the economic crisis on the 25 January Revolution.  Experts, including Farouk, argue that the main cause of the country's current ordeal has been investing in "white elephant" projects including the New Administrative Capital, which cost taxpayers about $US 60 billion.

Egypt's external debt soared by 5.1 per cent during the fourth quarter of 2022, reaching US$162.94 billion, a total of US$10 billion more than the previous quarter.

Last week, the government raised the prices of fuel products by 11 to 17 percent, the third such increase in 2024 as it continues to cut back on diesel and petrol subsidies. Earlier in June, the government raised the price of subsided flatbread by 400 per cent.

Such measures have sparked an uproar in the Arab World's most populous country, where almost one-third of about 106 million population lives under the poverty line.

Meanwhile, the arrest of Farouk has triggered widespread condemnations among intellectuals, activists and journalists who demanded his immediate release, launching the hashtag "freedom for Abdel-Khalik Farouk," which has been trending for hours. 

Video segments of Farouk's TV and social media appearances over the years, screenshots of his controversial online posts and copies of his articles and books have been widely reposted and shared online ever since.

Even though Farouk is known for his vocal criticism of Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, group members and sympathisers, currently in self-exile outside Egypt, have, surprisingly, joined forces with activists of other affiliations, all calling for his release.