Our latest on Egypt

It has been a momentous week in Egypt but unfortunately also a very violent one – as the people continue to call for change, the authorities in the country have launched a sweeping crackdown, aggressively suppressing peaceful protests.

Yesterday we heard the shocking news that two Amnesty staff members and a Human Rights Watch researcher were among 30 human rights activists, journalists and others who were detained by the Egyptian security forces after a raid on the Hisham Mubarak Law Centre in Cairo.

Having put themselves at risk to get vital information out of the country, our colleagues were unfortunate enough to become part of the story. Please join us in calling for their immediate release, and the immediate release of all international observers, journalists and Egyptian human rights defenders. Take action now

We are working with the UK Government to secure the release of our staff members and all other human rights activists that have been detained, as well as asking them to stand in solidarity with the Egyptian people at this important time.

Alongside our partners, which include Human Rights Watch, the International Trade Union Federation, AVAAZ and the Cairo Institute for Human Rights, we are coordinating a global campaign of solidarity to stop the crackdown. We should be able to update you on a Global Day of Action on 12 February soon so watch this space.

Follow Amnesty UK on Twitter for our latest updates, and check out our community editor’s list of people tweeting on the ground

Update: Amnesty staff members were among five human rights workers and journalists freed by Egyptian military police late on Friday night. As of Saturday afternoon all of the people detained in the raid on Hisham Mubarak Law Center are reported to have been released. Thanks to the 11,000 of you that took action calling for this to happen.