A young Christian man may lose the next five years of his life simply because he dared to speak about Christianity.
In Egypt, Coptic Christian scholar and YouTuber Augustinos Samaan has been sentenced to five years in prison and hard labour for creating online videos that teach about and defend the Christian faith.
Augustinos has built a YouTube channel with more than 100,000 subscribers. His videos are largely academic in nature, answering questions about Christianity and sharing his beliefs peacefully. But under Egypt’s blasphemy laws, that was enough for authorities to charge him with “contempt of religion” and “misuse of social media.”
No one should face prison for expressing their beliefs.
And Augustinos is not alone.
Since August 2025, dozens of people in Egypt have reportedly been arrested over online religious content, including young people posting on social media, converts sharing their faith, and Christians taking part in religious discussions.
Christians make up about 10–15% of Egypt’s population, yet they continue to face systemic persecution, including discrimination, violence, and imprisonment. Although Egypt’s constitution guarantees freedom of religion, blasphemy laws continue to be used to silence and punish religious expression, especially among Coptic Christians and other religious minorities.
As the Egyptian government increasingly monitors the online activity of Christians and other religious minorities, more people are being imprisoned simply for expressing their beliefs on social media.
Egypt must reverse course and honour its commitments to protect religious freedom and freedom of expression.
ADF International is providing legal support as Augustinos appeals his conviction. We are standing with him because no one should be punished for peacefully sharing their faith.
And we have seen what is possible.
Abdulbaqi Saaed Abdo, a Christian father of five, was imprisoned after sharing his beliefs in a Christian Facebook group. With support from ADF International, he was released and safely relocated.
Now, Augustinos needs that same support.
Will you give today to help defend Augustinos and others like him?
Your generosity helps provide urgent legal advocacy for Christians and religious minorities who face persecution simply because of what they believe. | 
