Free Seif Fateen

FREE SEIF FATEEN

An MIT-educated environmental engineering professor languishing in Egyptian prisons since November 14, 2018

About Seif

Seif has worked as a professor of chemical engineering at Cairo University, American University in Cairo, and Zewail University. His instructional videos on thermodynamics have garnered over 1 million views on YouTube.

Seif was the director of the environmental engineering program at Zewail University, and a former advisor to the Minister of Higher Education under former president Mohamed Morsi. He has applied his models to find solutions for greater energy sustainability.

See his work here

Seif Fateen is the father of seven children, including three US citizens, the youngest was 3 years old when he was arrested, and the oldest has given him two grandchildren who were born during his imprisonment.

An advocate for freedom and seeker of truth. Tahrir square, Nov 2011.

Timeline

November 2018

Seif Fateen is abducted by Egyptian security forces and taken to an unknown detention center. He remains forcibly disappeared for more than nine months. During his enforced disappearance, Fateen is held in near-total isolation and subjected to torture, including electric shocks, and beatings, and he is blindfolded and handcuffed for prolonged periods of time
August 2019

Fateen appears before the Supreme State Security Prosecution (SSSP) and faces charges of “joining a terrorist group” and “funding a terrorist group” in Case No. 930 of 2019 famously called “The Hope Case.”
November 2020

Fateen exceeds two years in pretrial detention, the legal limit stipulated by Egyptian law. While many others in Case No. 930 of 2019 (also known as the “Hope Case”) have been released, Fateen remains in pretrial detention and remains held in al-Qanater prison.
Early 2022

Prominent figures in the “Hope Case” such as Ramy Shaath and Zyad el-Elaimy were released from prison following international pressure and presidential pardons. Fateen was recycled into a new case, number 991/21, charged with joining a “terrorist organization”.
July 2025

Fateen’s trial has finally begun. Sessions are held every two months.
Today

Fateen is still in prison, and is being held between Badr Prison and Wadi al-Natrun Prison, where he is transferred to during exam sessions as he has enrolled in business school.

Press

Professor Seif Fateen held in pre-trial detention for nearly four years

Originally published on August 17, 2022 on Middle East Studies Association His Excellency Abdel Fattah al-SisiPresident, Arab Republic of EgyptFax: +20-2-390-1998 Chancellor Hamada El-SawyOffice of the Public ProsecutorFax: +20-2-25774716 Prime Solicitor-General Khaled DiauddinSupreme State Security Prosecution in the Arab Republic of EgyptFax: +20-2-26381956 Dear President al-Sisi, Chancellor El-Sawy and Prime Solicitor-General Diauddin, We write to…