Gehad El-Haddad

{{Short description|Egyptian activist (born 1981)}}

Gehad El-Haddad ({{langx|ar|جهاد الحداد}}; born c. 1981) is an Egyptian political activist for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. He acted as media spokesman for the Brotherhood from May 2013 until he was arrested on 17 September 2013.{{Cite web|url=https://www.almasryalyoum.com/news/details/318240|title="الإخوان" تشكل لجنة من أعضائها للتواصل وزيارة المؤسسات والشخصيات الإعلامية | المصري اليوم|website=www.almasryalyoum.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/muslim-brotherhood-spokesman-arrested_n_3941762|title=Muslim Brotherhood Spokesman Arrested In Egypt|first=Joshua|last=Hersh|date=September 17, 2013|website=HuffPost}}

He became the most recognized face of the Muslim Brotherhood in foreign media during the period following former president Mohamed Morsi's ouster. He held several interviews with international media from inside Rabaa Square where protesters made a sit-in for more than a month.{{cite web |url=http://www.madamasr.com/news/mb-spokesperson-gehad-haddads-family-we-dont-know-if-hes-alive-or-dead |title=MB spokesperson Gehad Haddad's family: We don't know if he's alive or dead |publisher=Mada Masr |date=2015-10-06 |accessdate=2025-06-11}}

The son of Essam El-Haddad, a member of the Brotherhood's Guidance Bureau, Gehad El-Haddad grew up in Alexandria. He worked for the Industrial Modernization Centre and then the Clinton Climate Initiative. Afterwards, he volunteered for the Muslim Brotherhood Renaissance Project (Project implementation started while Morsi was in office).Nadine Marroushi, [http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/renaissance-man-gehad-el-haddad-works-islamist-project-s-pragmatist Renaissance man: Gehad El Haddad works as the Islamist project’s pragmatist], Egypt Independent, 31 July 2012 In February 2017, as some reports emerged that the Trump administration was mulling designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organisation,{{cite news|last1=Baker|first1=Peter|title=White House Weighs Terrorist Designation for Muslim Brotherhood|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/07/world/middleeast/muslim-brotherhood-terrorism-trump.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FMuslim%20Brotherhood%20Egypt|accessdate=6 March 2018|work=The New York Times|date=7 February 2017}} Gehad El-Haddad wrote an op-ed for The New York Times from his prison cell in Tora Prison in Cairo outlining that the MB was not a terrorist organisation but rather a peaceful socio-political organisation.{{cite news|last1=El-Haddad|first1=Gehad|title=Opinion {{!}} I Am a Member of the Muslim Brotherhood, Not a Terrorist|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/22/opinion/i-am-a-member-of-the-muslim-brotherhood-not-a-terrorist.html|accessdate=6 March 2018|work=The New York Times|date=22 February 2017}} After writing the op-Ed, he was moved to a disciplinary cell in Scorpion Prison.{{Cite web|url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170228-jailed-muslim-brotherhood-spokesman-put-in-disciplinary-cell-over-new-york-times-article-mother/|title=Jailed Brotherhood spokesman disciplined for New York Times article|date=February 28, 2017|website=Middle East Monitor}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.ca/news/egypt-end-gehad-el-haddads-solitary-confinement-and-denial-medical-care|title=Egypt: End Gehad el-Haddad's solitary confinement and denial of medical care|date=May 28, 2018|website=Amnesty International Canada|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=February 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226070829/https://www.amnesty.ca/news/egypt-end-gehad-el-haddads-solitary-confinement-and-denial-medical-care|url-status=dead}}

While in prison, he went on hunger strike.{{cite web |url=https://www.madamasr.com/en/2016/02/29/news/u/more-inmates-join-hunger-strike-against-abuses-at-aqrab-prison/ |title=More inmates join hunger strike against abuses at Aqrab Prison |publisher=Mada Masr |date=2016-02-29 |accessdate=2025-06-11}}

On 25 October 2019, his brother Abdullah stated that Gehad had lost his ability to walk.{{cite news|title=Egyptian political prisoner Gehad el-Haddad has lost ability to walk, says family|url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/young-political-prisoner-gehad-el-haddad-lost-ability-walk-says-family|accessdate=19 August 2020|work=Middle East Eye|date=25 October 2019}}