Women’s rights advocate Azza Soliman, also the director of the Center of Egyptian Women Legal Assistance (CEWLA), was arrested by security forces from her home in Heliopolis on Wednesday, according to the centre.
The arrest warrant against Soliman was issued by judge Hesham Abdel Mageed, who is investigating the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) foreign funding case that Soliman is involved in.
Shortly after the arrest, it was reported that Soliman was taken to the Heliopolis police station. However, human rights activist Gamal Eid said that she is being transferred to the court of Fifth Settlement.
Lawyers believe that there will be several arrest warrants issued against several other activists who are involved in the NGOs foreign funding case, according to journalist Hossam Bahgat who is also involved in the case.
On 22 November, Soliman filed an appeal against the decision that was issued against her by the general prosecutor, ordering the freeze of her assets. She was told that her assets were frozen by bank employees.
On 19 November, Soliman was barred from travelling to the Jordanian capital of Amman to attend a rights conference. The security forces at the airport failed to provide her with a reason for the ban. Soliman told Daily News Egypt back then that she will visit the general prosecutor to understand the reasons behind the decision.
Over the past few months, several rights lawyers and activists were banned from travelling and had their assets frozen due to their involvement in the NGOs foreign funding case, including Bahgat and Eid.
