CAIRO (AP) — Ten of the world's leading human rights organizations have selected an Egyptian activist for the prestigious Martin Ennals award, given in recognition of outstanding work at great personal risk.

But rights advocate and legal scholar Mohamed Zaree could not attend the Geneva ceremony on Tuesday to accept the award in person because the government has placed him on a no-fly list, accusing him of harming national security.

The 37-year-old Zaree leads activities in Egypt for the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, which focuses on the Arab world.

The group moved its base to Tunis in 2014 after Egypt began targeting such organizations as part of a wide-scale crackdown on dissent.

The group has handled high-profile cases, including that of now-freed Egyptian-American charity worker Aya Hijazi, jailed nearly three years.