Sherif Gaber Abdelazim Bakr (Arabic: شريف جابر عبد العظيم بكر, romanized: Šarīf Ǧābir ʿAbd al-ʿAẓīm Bakr[4] pronounced [ʃɪˈɾiːf ˈɡæːbeɾ ʕæbdelʕɑˈzˤiːm bɑkɾ]; born 10 February 1993), is an Egyptian political activist, blogger and YouTuber who was arrested on October 27, 2013, for professing atheism, contempt of religion relating to activities on campus and atheist statements online.
He claimed to be 'one of the best students in class', but that changed when he got into a verbal argument with a psychology teacher, who has said that homosexuality is a 'sin' and gay people 'should be crucified in the middle of the street'.
A number of state security agents entered his apartment, conducted a search, and confiscated all of his property, including but not limited to his school papers and documents, books, his PC, mobile phone, and his money.
[7] On December 3, 2013, the court agreed to release Gaber after paying £E7,500 (£E2,500 for the "Contempt of Religion" charge and £E5,000 for "spreading immoral values and abnormal thoughts that provoke and disturb the public peace and the national security of Egypt.")
[13] On March 31, 2018, Gaber published a tweet about an imminent arrest, call for calm among his supporters and claimed he would "keep making videos when i get out.. i'll write the scripts in prison.
[16][3] As of October 12, 2018, the total number of felony charges against him, each one of them punishable up to 15 years in Egyptian prison, amounted to five "ranging from blasphemy, insulting Islam, contempt of religion, supporting homosexuality, shaking the peace of the society and 'religious extremism'".
[17] In late January 2019, Gaber made an online appeal to aid him financially in order to escape from Egypt with a new nationality, such as that of Dominica, after being stopped at the airport when travelling to Malaysia in 2018.
[18][19] However, the action was not progressing according to plan, and on 11 July Gaber made an emotional appeal on Twitter, saying that he had almost lost all hope and was "on the verge of committing suicide" if no help came soon.
Mina Ahadi of the Central Council of Ex-Muslims called for solidarity with Gaber, and pleaded with the German government to commence negotiations to get him to Germany or elsewhere in Europe.
[20] Gaber has shared on social media that he is "banned from leaving Egypt indefinitely", and on January 21, 2021, posted on Twitter that he is "going to productively spend the time left to my freedom but most importantly on myself.
[22] In May 2024, an Egyptian Misdemeanor Court in Ismailia ruled to imprison Gaber for five years, accusing him of publishing videos that disdain the Islamic religion and incite atheism.