In 2014, and only two weeks after the inauguration of Egypt's President Abdelfatah al-Sisi, Hassan received a death threat for his engagement in bilateral meetings with high level international officials on the human rights situation in Egypt.[3] For safety reasons, and after being advised to do so by NGOs, academics, and senior diplomats inside and outside of Egypt, including from the UN, Hassan has been living in self-imposed exile in France since 2014.