Press Releases

Today, in remarks to the U.S. House of Representatives, Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) called for the immediate release of Dr. Seif Fateen, who has been detained in Egypt without trial for nearly six years. 

Dr. Fateen, a distinguished MIT-educated chemical and environmental engineering professor, has been held in prison since his house was raided without a warrant in November 2018. His pre-trial detention far exceeds Egypt’s legal two-year maximum and has been marked by severe violations of his due process rights, including reports of torture and isolation.  

In July, DelBene met with the Egyptian Ambassador to the U.S. to urge the Egyptian government to take action on the case. Today, she is again calling on the government to release Dr. Fateen and to ensure that his due process rights are fully respected until then. The full text of her letter is available here.  

Members of Dr. Fateen’s family, who live in Washington’s 1st Congressional District, have been deeply impacted by his ongoing detention and engaged in getting justice for Dr. Fateen. DelBene hopes that ongoing engagement and collaboration with the Egyptian government can lead to Dr. Fateen being safely reunited with his family. 

Watch DelBene’s remarks here. Her remarks as delivered are below: 

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, 

I rise today to demand justice for Seif Fateen, an MIT-educated professor who has been unjustly detained in Egypt since 2018. 

Dr. Fateen served in Egypt’s Ministry of Education before the government was overthrown in a coup in 2013.  

His home was later raided without a warrant and he was arrested.   

For the last six years, he has been held without a trial date despite an Egyptian law that sets a two-year maximum for pretrial detention.  

Dr. Fateen has experienced various forms of mistreatment, torture, and near-total isolation during his detention, and continues to be denied basic due process.  

I want to thank Dr. Fateen’s family, who lives in Redmond, Washington, in my district, for bringing his case to my attention. 

I recently met with the Egyptian Ambassador to advocate for Dr. Fateen, and I will continue to demand justice so that he can be reunited with his family as soon as possible.  

Thank you. I yield back.