On 20 December 2025, Egyptian national and Danish resident Hassan El Sayed was arrested upon his arrival at Cairo International Airport. National Security Agency officials questioned him about his role in the movie The Eagles of the Republic, where he appeared very briefly as a priest. Following his arrest, he was taken before a prosecutor, who ordered his pretrial detention pending investigations into the charge of “joining a terrorist group while being aware of its objectives”. Since then, his pretrial detention in case No. 4529 of the Supreme State Security Prosecution (SSSP) has been renewed. The Egyptian authorities must immediately release Hassan El Sayed and drop all charges against him as he is detained solely for the peaceful exercise of his human rights. Authorities must allow him to safely reunite with his family in Denmark.
