Hamdeen Sabahi (Arabic: حمدين صباحي, romanized: Ḥamdīn Ṣabāḥī, IPA: [ħæmˈdeːn sˤɑˈbɑːħi]; born 5 July 1954) is an Egyptian politician and journalist.

An opposition activist during the Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak eras, Sabahi was jailed 17 times during their presidencies for political dissidence.

Sabahi also gained the support of prominent Egyptian figures including writer and political activist Alaa Al Aswany and director and film-writer Khaled Youssef.

[5][7] Sabahi was born in a small Nile Delta town in Kafr el-Sheikh Governorate called Baltim in 1954 to a father who was a fellah ("peasant").

Sabahi and his colleagues established the club in response to what they saw as Sadat's policy of undoing late President Gamal Abdel Nasser's legacy.

[8][9] In 1977, after the mass anti-government protests, then-President Anwar Sadat met with Student Union representatives from around Egypt for a televised debate and it was there that Sabahi became well known among Egyptians.

[citation needed] He also criticized Sadat's plans to make peace with Israel,[8] while Palestinians remained without a home and devoid of representation.

[9] In September 1981, as a result of his vociferous criticism of the peace treaty, Sabahi became the youngest member of the Nationalist Opposition movement to be detained.

[8] He was arrested again in 1991 after a speech to students in Cairo University where he condemned airstrikes by the United States against Iraq, following the Iraqi military's withdrawal from Kuwait.

[10] In 2003 Sabahi was arrested for the fourth time for leading demonstrations against the usage of the Suez Canal by United States' destroyers heading towards Iraq as part of the invasion of that country.

In 2006 Sabahi declared his support for the Lebanese resistance to Israel, and in 2008, he went to the Gaza Strip in an attempt to help lift the siege of the territory.

[12] On 25 January 2011, the first day of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, Sabahi joined the protests that took place in his hometown of Baltim, and was lightly injured by security forces attempting to quell the demonstration.

[citation needed] After the fall the Mubarak's government, Sabahi has given several speeches and lectures at universities supporting the revolution and addressing its aftermath.

In a press conference in March 2011, Sabahi promised that he would make the separation of powers more distinct, provide social equity and justice, and rid the Egyptian economy of monopoly and corruption.

In another press conference in October 2011, Sabahi said that his presidential campaign will focus on three aspects: "building a democratic system..., granting general freedoms, clarifying the separation of powers, limiting presidential power, guaranteeing the freedoms of political parties, syndicates and the media," while preserving citizens' rights to protest and go on strike.

According to Sabahi, the Egyptian should be entitled to eight things: "housing, healthcare, food, free education, work, insurance and a fair wage, and a clean environment."

Mubarak-era minister Ahmed Shafiq beat Sabahi by a margin of around 700,000 votes earning him second place in the race and qualifying his entrance into the runoff with first-place winner Mohammad Morsi of the Freedom and Justice Party.

Nonetheless, his popularity was a surprise to many analysts who did not expect Sabahi to win many votes because he lacked a party machine and organization outside the major cities.

[2] Since the announcement of the election results, Sabahi has lodged a formal complaint, alleging irregularities in the voting and questioning the legality of the candidature of Ahmed Shafiq.

[14] In the aftermath of the military coup, defense minister General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi called for mass demonstrations on 26 July 2013 to grant his forces a "mandate" to crack down on "terrorism".

[28] Sabahi argued in March 2013 that Mohamed Morsi, president of Egypt, is the "new Mubarak", but initially refused to endorse his overthrow by the military.

[29] During a televised debate which aired on Al-Manar TV on 3 April 2014, Tamer Hindawi, who is a spokesman for Sabahi's presidential campaign, stated (as translated by MEMRI) that "Our enmity with the Zionist enemy goes to our very existence.

In our view, the Camp David Accords are responsible for many of our crises, and might even be the main reason for Egypt's subjugation to America, and for the decline in its role as an Arab, Islamic, and African leader...Sabahi believes that the Zionists are our enemy, but when the historic moment arrives, he will decide what action to take."

His remarks came after activist Alaa Abd El Fattah and 24 others were sentenced to 15 years imprisonment in absentia in the Shura Council case one day earlier.