Egyptian activist in 'real danger' in Oman as she faces extradition over social media posts
An Egyptian woman and her newborn baby face extradition on false claims of an Interpol red notice from Oman to Egypt over social media posts she made criticising the Egyptian government.
Mariam Abdelbasette has been held since 25 May at the Medical City Hospital for Military Agencies in the Omani capital Muscat after requiring a caesarean section to deliver her baby.
Oman has claimed that it is complying with an Interpol Red notice to remove Abdelbasette from the Gulf state and return her to Egypt, following her husband Ahmed Mousa, who was forcibly deported to Egypt on 9 April 2026 and subsequently imprisoned.
Red notices are requests filed by Interpol member states asking law enforcement agencies in other member states to locate and provisionally arrest wanted people. Member states decide whether to act on a red notice in accordance with their own laws.
However, there is no evidence of a notice for Abdelbasette on Interpol's public database and her lawyer Ben Keith believes the Omanis' claims as such are false.
"We have received unofficial information that there is no Interpol notices of any kind, or alerts on her or her husband…and the Omanis are just refusing to back up their claims," he told Middle East Eye.
"So it must be a direct request from the Egyptian government."
According to the NHS, it takes six to eight weeks after a caesarean section for the external wound and internal layers to heal, although most women can leave hospital after one or two days.
Therefore, supporters of Abdelbasette are concerned that she could be returned to Egypt - where she would face imprisonment, possibly along with her newborn - in a matter of days at the earliest.
"She’s in real danger, I can’t overemphasise that," said Keith.
'Not telling the truth'
Abdelbasette's husband was arrested on 26 March after being summoned from his workplace.
On 9 April, he was informed that he would be released - instead, however, he was taken to Muscat Airport and forcibly deported to Egypt.
'They’re using Interpol as a shield, they would not have issued a red notice for somebody criticising another person on the internet'
- Ben Keith, Lawyer
According to the Berlin-based rights group Law and Democracy Support Foundation (LDSF), he was deported solely based on a verbal notification of an alleged Interpol request, without provision of any written decision, judicial order, or official documentation to him or his family.
His current whereabouts remain unknown, despite pleas from his family to the public prosecutor in Egypt.
Abdelbasette was then informed that a travel ban had been imposed on her in Oman and that any attempt to leave the country could see her removed to Egypt as well.
LDSF said that Abdelbasette had not been formally notified of any charges against her, but had obtained images of documents indicating her inclusion as a defendant in a State Security-related case file including charges of “leading a terrorist organisation,” “spreading false news,” “unlawful assembly,” and “incitement to civil disobedience".
Abdelbasette's campaigning has been largely restricted to social media activity since coming to Oman, including supporting an online referendum calling for the removal of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el‑Sisi.
According to her lawyer, when she went to hospital to give birth, she was detained without warning or notification.
She first realised this when she saw a document with her name and the word “prisoner” next to it in the ward.
"[Oman is] not telling the truth, they’re using Interpol as a shield, they would not have issued a red notice for somebody criticising another person on the internet," said Keith.
"This would be a brazen abuse of this situation."
Egypt ranks 18 out of 100 in Freedom House's Freedom in the World index, which measures political rights and civil liberties in 208 countries, with higher rankings indicating less freedom.
Human rights groups estimate that more than 60,000 political prisoners are languishing in Egyptian prisons.
Human Rights Watch has described the Egyptian government as being engaged in "wholesale repression, systematically detaining and punishing peaceful critics and activists and effectively criminalising peaceful dissent".
Mounir Satouri, Chair of the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights, called for Abdelbesette's release on Tuesday afternoon.
“Egyptian activist Mariam Mohamed El-Sayed Abdelbesette is being held illegally in Oman pending extradition to Egypt," he wrote on X.
"I call on the Omani authorities to release Mariam and not to extradite her, as she is clearly a victim of transnational repression.”
MEE contacted Interpol to confirm whether or not they have an active notice for Abdelbasette, but received no response at time of publication.
MEE also contacted the Oman media attache in London for comment, but received no response.
This article was sourced from Middle East Eye.
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