After converting to Christianity, el-Shafie was arrested in 1998 and taken to the Abu Zaabal Prison in Cairo, where he was tortured.
After receiving the death penalty, he managed to escape Egypt by driving a stolen jet-ski from Taba in Sinai to nearby Eilat, Israel.
[1] Shafie was arrested in Israel, but eventually released through the assistance of the United Nations and additional organizations, which helped him to obtain political asylum in Canada.
[4] In 2012, Shafie received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.
[5] El Shafie has voiced opinions against what he sees as radicalization and antisemitism in the Muslim world.