On September 8, 2025, Egypt’s National Council for Human Rights issued a statement urging head of the Egyptian regime Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to consider granting a presidential pardon to a number of detainees, including Alaa Abdel Fattah.

In Syria, children’s identities were erased in the basements of the Assad regime's prison, then further obscured by placing them in care institutions and tampering with their official documents.

The Palestinian Authority, under Mahmoud Abbas, has worsened the suffering of freed detainees by obstructing vital documentation and support, leaving them facing uncertainty, restrictions, and ongoing hardship in exile.

Far from being just a legal arrangement, the "prisoner exchange" between the UAE and Egypt risks becoming a bridge that moves political detainees from one form of captivity to another, perpetuating a cycle of repression and abuse.

The fall of al-Assad’s regime has led to ongoing efforts to uncover the fate of thousands of detainees and missing persons from various Arab nations held under his rule.