Twenty-two Egyptian journalists in pre-trial detention, some for seven years
PICTURE: Journalists to demand the release of their colleagues in Egypt (Courtesy Egyptian Journalists Syndicate/IFJ)
International Federation of Journalists
On 28 May, United Nations investigators found that Egyptian authorities are illegally detaining British-Egyptian activist and writer Alaa Abd El-Fattah. He is currently being held in a Cairo prison, while his mother, Laila Soueif, who lives in the United Kingdom, is on hunger strike.
On 22 May, the UK’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer called on Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to show clemency, saying that the detention is causing the family of El-Fattah considerable pain
On 30 May, the President of the EJS, Khaled El-Balshy, published a statement on Facebook calling for the release of the journalists currently in jail. Most are being held under extended pre-trial detention, in some cases lasting several years, despite repeated appeals for their release.
According to the EJS, the 22 journalists are currently being detained are:
- Karim Ibrahim Sayed Ahmed, since 14 April 2020
- Mostafa Ahmed Abdelmohsen Hassan El-Khatib, since 12 October 2019
- Ahmed Mohamed Mohamed Ali Sebai, since 28 February 2020
- Badr Badr Mohamed Badr, since 30 March 2017
- Mahmoud Saad Kamel Diab, since 6 September 2022
- Hamdi Mokhtar Ali (Hamdi El-Zaem), since 5 January 2021
- Tawfik Abdelwahid Ibrahim Ghanem, since 21 May 2021
- Mohamed Saeed Fahmy, since 31 May 2018
- Mohamed Abou El-Maati, since August 2022
- Donia Samir Fathy, since 27 May 2022
- Mostafa Mohamed Saad, since 8 November 2019
- Abdullah Samir Mohamed Ibrahim Mubarak, since 22 September 2019
- Medhat Ramadan Ali Barghouth, since 28 May 2020
- Ahmed Khaled Mohamed El-Toukhy, since 19 June 2021
- Ahmed Abou Zaid El-Tonoubi, since 22 March 2021
- Yasser Sayed Ahmed Abou El-Ala, since 10 March 2024
- Karim Ahmed Mohamed Omar (Karim El-Shaer), since 29 October 2023
- Ramadan Gweida Shehata, since 1 May 2024
- Khaled Mamdouh Mohamed Ibrahim, since 16 July 2024
- Ashraf Omar Mohamed Sedky, since 22 July 2024
- Hussein Ali Ahmed Karim, since 18 November 2020, and
- Mohamed Ibrahim Radwan (Oxygen) since 21 September 2019
According to El-Balshy, more than 15 of the detained journalists have been held for over two years and some have remained in prison for as long as seven years, exceeding the maximum legal limit.
‘These cases are part of a broader pattern of imprisoning people for expressing their views,’ he said.
El-Balshy also called for the release of all citizens who are held in prison on charges related to freedom of expression or freedom of association. Some have been detained simply for joining demonstrations in support of Palestine
Although authorities have repeatedly promised to drop the charges and release them, these promises have not been fulfilled.
IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said: ‘Together with the EJS, we call for the immediate release of the 22 journalists jailed in Egypt. No journalist should ever be imprisoned for doing their job or expressing their views. We demand that the authorities uphold press freedom and guarantee the safety of journalists.’
