Draft:Abdelrahman ElGendy

Abdelrahman ElGendy
عبد الرحمن الجندي
A headshot of Abdelrahman ElGendy
Born
Abdelrahman ElGendy[1]

(1995-12-12) December 12, 1995 (age 28)
Education

Abdelrahman ElGendy (Arabic: عبد الرحمن الجندي) is an Egyptian writer and public speaker from Cairo, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A former six-year political prisoner in Egypt, he was detained from 2013 to 2020.[1][2][3]

Early Life and Education

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ElGendy was arrested at the age of 17 in Cairo during a protest against the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état in Egypt,[1][2][3] was mis-tried as an adult instead of a minor,[2][1][3] and sentenced to 15 years in a maximum-security prison.[2][1][3] ElGendy spent over six years in prison, where he earned a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from Ain Shams University.[2] He was retried as a minor and released in January 2020.[2][1][3] In 2025, he is expected to graduate with an MFA in Nonfiction Writing from the University of Pittsburgh.[4][5][2]

Career

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ElGendy's writing focuses on political and social issues of the Middle East and the Arab diasporic experience.[6][7][2] His writing appears in the Washington Post, Foreign Policy, Guernica, AGNI, Mizna, Mada Masr, and elsewhere. ElGendy is the recipient of the EU-presented Samir Kassir Freedom of Press Award,[8][9][10] the Courage to Write Award by the de Groot Foundation,[11] the Steinbeck Fellowship by San Jose State University,[12] and the Heinz Fellowship by the University of Pittsburgh's Global Studies Center.[13]

Advocacy and Public Speaking

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ElGendy advocates for Egyptian political prisoners locally and in the US.[14] His speaking engagements include appearances at Harvard University,[15] the University of Pennsylvania,[16] the University of Pittsburgh,[17] and elsewhere.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "After his retrial as a minor, El Gendy's sentence decreased to 5 years". MENA Rights Group. 6 October 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Alami, Aida (17 March 2023). "Jailed in Egypt at 17, He Wrote to Survive and to Share His Long Ordeal". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e اعتُقل طفلاً وخسر مستقبلاً دراسياً مرموقاً... الإفراج عن المعتقل المصري عبد الرحمن الجندي. رصيف22 (in Arabic). 13 January 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  4. ^ "Abdelrahman ElGendy". Department of English. University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  5. ^ بعد اعتقاله 6 سنوات.. طالب مصري يحقق حلمه ويحصل على منحة دراسية في الولايات المتحدة. الجزيرة مباشر (in Arabic). Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  6. ^ Español, Marc (7 January 2022). "La vida entre rejas se hace literatura en Egipto". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  7. ^ مصر: الحياة في السجون تتحول إلى أعمال أدبية. نون بوست (in Arabic). 12 January 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  8. ^ "The European Union rewards journalists from Egypt, Syria, and Yemen during the 2024 edition of the Samir Kassir Award". EEAS (Press release). Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  9. ^ "Samir Kassir Award | For Freedom of the Press". Samir Kassir Award | For Freedom of the Press. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  10. ^ P, Lydia (21 June 2024). "Abdelrahman ElGendy Wins the Samir Kassir Freedom of Press Award". The de Groot Foundation. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  11. ^ P, Lydia (9 April 2024). "Abdelrahman ElGendy". The de Groot Foundation. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  12. ^ "Steinbeck Fellowship | Center for Steinbeck Studies". www.sjsu.edu. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  13. ^ "H.J. Heinz Fellowship". Global Studies Center. University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  14. ^ Alami, Aida (17 March 2023). "Jailed in Egypt at 17, He Wrote to Survive and to Share His Long Ordeal". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  15. ^ "ACH24 Program — Arab Conference at Harvard 2024". Arab Conference at Harvard. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  16. ^ Comstock, Charlotte. "Egyptian writer Abdelrahman ElGendy speaks at Penn about political activism, imprisonment". www.thedp.com. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  17. ^ "Narratives of The Exiled | Global Studies Center". www.ucis.pitt.edu. Retrieved 19 June 2024.