Hours after the release of a number of prisoners of conscience in Egypt, most prominently Nermeen Hussein, Sayed Moshagheb and Sherif El-Roubi, amid a welcome from rights and political circles, the State Security Prosecution decided to jail political activist and poet Ahmed Douma for 4 days, pending Case No. 2449 of 2026, the seventh since the issuance of a presidential pardon for him in August 2023.
The prosecution charged Douma with spreading false news and statements inside and outside the country that would disturb public peace and stir confusion, on the basis of posts on social media and an article he published on the Al-Araby Al-Jadeed website titled “A Prison Inside the State and a State Inside the Prison”, according to lawyer Khaled Ali.
His brother Mohamed tells Zawia3 that it is the seventh time his brother has been summoned for investigation since his release with a presidential pardon in 2023, with the charges being similar despite the different case numbers, and the previous times ended with his release on bail totalling about EGP 230,000.
He stresses that since his release his brother has tried to rearrange his life and start anew, seeking to make up for what he missed after spending more than ten years in prison, which affected his life and his professional career. He expresses his hope that the decision to arrest him will be reconsidered, and that he will be released as soon as possible, allowing him to continue his life normally.
For his part, human rights lawyer Khaled Ali, a member of Ahmed Douma’s defence team, announced that the review of the renewal of Ahmed Douma’s detention will take place next Thursday, 9 April, at the New Cairo Court, and that the hearing will be held by video conference, which means that he will remain in his place of detention at 10th of Ramadan Prison 4 and will attend the hearing online.
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Douma Is Not an Isolated Case
For his part, Zohdy El-Shamy, a leading figure in the Socialist Popular Alliance Party, considers that the targeting of Ahmed Douma is not an isolated case, but reflects a wider pattern in dealing with opinion cases in Egypt, where summonses for investigation and the bringing of charges are repeated, some are forced to pay high bail, and the matter may sometimes go as far as imprisonment.
He explains, speaking to Zawia3, that “recycling” policies are always in place: while some prisoners are released, others are arrested, with a number of people continuing to be summoned in connection with opinion cases, such as Tamer Shirin Shawky and Ammar Ali Hassan, which confirms that the prosecution extends to many names.
El-Shamy points to major loopholes in the Criminal Procedure Code that hinder lawyers’ ability to defend their clients, including not being allowed to see the case files, as happened with Douma’s defence team. He points out that anyone who criticises prison conditions, such as Douma, Mostafa Ahmed and Sherif El-Roubi, is exposed to targeting, considering that the main reason for this is direct criticism of the Interior apparatus, and expressing hope that these conditions will be reformed in the future.
In this context, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, condemned the repeated legal targeting of political activist Ahmed Douma, demanding an immediate end to what she described as “harassment”. Lawlor wrote today, Tuesday, that the authorities should close all the cases brought against him and end these practices, describing the news of his detention as “disturbing”.
Security forces had arrested Douma at dawn from his home last January, following a statement issued by the Ministry of Interior in which it announced its intention to take legal action against whoever published a video talking about the assaults that political activist Mohamed Adel, the official spokesperson of the April 6 Movement, was subjected to in his place of detention.
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Later, the competent investigating authorities decided to release Ahmed Douma on bail of EGP 100,000, after hearing his statements in the investigations into Case No. 2563 of 2025 (State Security), on charges of broadcasting false news inside and outside the country.
For its part, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights condemned the detention of Douma following a six-hour investigation in Case No. 2449 of 2026 (Supreme State Security), based on Articles 80 (d) and 102 bis of the Penal Code, in connection with two posts, one dealing with detention conditions, and an article titled “A Prison Inside the State and a State Inside the Prison”, with a decision to detain him for four days pending investigations.
The initiative explained in its statement that the investigation of Ahmed Douma comes as part of a series of prosecutions linked to his opinions and his defence of human rights, noting that he had previously affirmed before the prosecution that what he publishes is based on events he lived through during his detention, and does not fall under the concept of false news.
The initiative considered that the decision to arrest him constitutes a violation of the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code and the constitution, which prohibit detention in publishing cases, calling on Public Prosecutor Mohamed Shawky to intervene to release him, drop the charges against him, and stop the expanding use of “spreading false news” charges against journalists and human rights defenders.
The defence team also criticised not being allowed to see the reports or the investigations, which prevents the charges from being refuted, and argued that the interrogation was void because of the absence of confrontation with evidence.
In this context, the Civil Democratic Movement expressed its deep concern and condemnation of the decision to detain him, following the release decisions issued for a number of detainees, and considered that this disparity raises questions about the standards of justice and the equal application of the law.
It pointed out in a statement that Douma has been summoned seven times in two years, which reflects a pattern of continuous prosecution that raises concerns about the guarantees of justice and legal procedures. The movement warned against any practices that could be interpreted as punishment for peaceful expression or engagement in public affairs.
It called for Douma’s immediate release and an end to all forms of prosecution against him, in addition to expanding release decisions to include all those detained in connection with opinion cases, and reviewing the policies and procedures related to freedom of expression and political participation.
Meanwhile, the Ahmed Douma campaign condemned the prosecution’s decision, and explained that these measures come as part of a series of arbitrary harassments that have affected Douma since his release, including a travel ban, obstruction in obtaining his official papers, denial of postgraduate study programmes, in addition to the social stigma he suffers like other political detainees.
The campaign pointed out that over the past two years, Douma has faced six publishing-related cases in all of which he was released after paying bail exceeding EGP 235,000, before being sentenced this time to four days’ detention, even though his activity is limited to writing about his experience inside prison and highlighting the conditions of his detained fellow prisoners.
It is worth noting that Douma, aged 37, spent about 12 years in prison, including ten consecutive years between 2013 and 2023, before being released with a presidential pardon, only to now find himself besieged by restrictive measures that prevent him from regaining his normal life or planning his future.
The campaign considered that the latest detention decision comes at a time when the country is witnessing positive steps towards releasing a number of prisoners of conscience, which threatens to undermine this progress and frustrate an optimistic public opinion. The campaign stresses the need to review this decision immediately, while demanding a comprehensive pardon for all detainees of the January revolution up to today, the cancellation of new cases, an end to re-arrests, and the lifting of all the restrictions and arbitrary measures they face after release, to enable them to return to their lives and exercise their rights normally.
Complaining About Prison Conditions Brings Re-arrest
In the context of the recent release decisions, the Supreme State Security Prosecution decided to release Sherif El-Roubi, a former leading figure in the April 6 Movement, more than three years after his arrest in September 2022 for the fourth time, in connection with statements in which he addressed his difficult living conditions after leaving prison.
Last February, security forces arrested political activist Mostafa Ahmed in connection with similar charges relating to publishing content about detention conditions. His posts on Facebook included allegations about the conditions inside places of detention and prison conditions, and the prosecution charged him with spreading false news and joining a terrorist group, in Case No. 945 of 2026 (Supreme State Security).
In this context, Elham Eidarous, founding agent of the Bread and Freedom Party (under formation), considers that re-imprisoning Ahmed Douma or other political activists represents a message that leaving prison is not an end or a salvation, as one can be returned to it again and pay the price, and it amounts to continuous punishment in which these people live in an endless spiral.
Elham cites, speaking to Zawia3, what happened with activist Sherif El-Roubi, who was recently released after detention that lasted more than three years after he spoke about his personal conditions, and who had remained outside prison for only three months before he was arrested again, considering that this method is unacceptable and harsh and threatens individuals throughout their lives.
On the aim of these practices, Elham explains that the intended message is frustration and preventing anyone from speaking about human rights conditions or political issues, noting that this approach is not sustainable in the long term, as there will always be people with different points of view, stressing that dealing with difference or dissenting opinion cannot be through continuous punishment or the continuous threat of prison.
Prison Conditions Unsettle the State
Last September, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights issued a report titled “Between Propaganda and Reality: Violations of the Rights of Badr Prison Inmates”, coinciding with the approach of the fourth anniversary of the opening of the new prison complex in the last quarter of 2021. The report covers the first three years of the complex’s operation.
The report reviewed two accounts of what detainees experienced during this period: the first, the government account that glorifies conditions inside the prisons through limited official visits, and the second, the account of detainees, their families and their lawyers, which affirms the worsening of forms of violence and the restriction of basic rights, making placement in these prisons a double punishment, whether for those in pretrial detention or for those sentenced to custodial penalties.
The initiative adopted a qualitative research methodology, which included interviews with families of current and former detainees in Badr 1 and Badr 3 prisons, in addition to lawyers who followed their clients’ pretrial detention renewal hearings, as these were sometimes the only means of learning about prison conditions. It noted the scarcity of official data and announced inspection visits, which led it to resort to monitoring news and government reports, in order to compare the official account with the experiences of detainees and their families.
The initiative concluded in its investigation, through its available sources, that the current situation requires reviews of policies and security management, and serious inquiry and investigation undertaken by the investigative bodies. In its report, the initiative presented a package of clear measures that the competent authorities could take that would enforce existing laws, if there is a desire to improve the conditions of prisoners and preserve their lives and rights.
For his part, human rights lawyer Halim Heneish explains that the prison system in Egypt has undergone radical changes over the past two years, and has come to rest on isolating the prisoner from the outside world by banning visits, building prisons in remote desert areas, and adopting remote trials, stressing that these measures come within the framework of the state’s attempt to control everything published about prison conditions, and to pressure anyone who talks about them.
He points out, speaking to Zawia3, that several cases, among them those of human rights defender Hossam Bahgat, who was recently investigated, writer Ahmed Douma and activist Mostafa Ahmed, are directly linked to publishing news or testimonies about prisons, explaining that the Ministry of Interior’s campaign targets everyone who addresses this file, with a difference in the way of dealing between the civil current, which is sometimes handled with bail, and the Islamist current, which is subjected to harsher pressure, including the arrest of the families of journalists and human rights defenders.
The human rights lawyer continues that organisations such as the Egyptian Network, which used to document prison news, were forced to close as a result of this security pressure, noting that the targeting of Ahmed Douma in particular was not surprising, because his release from prison in the first place was not easy and he has faced continuous harassment because of his testimonies about prison conditions, considering that his arrest is part of the general pattern that targets everyone who speaks about this file.
Heneish stresses that these measures are not taken merely because people oppose the president or the government, but because they expose violations and torture inside prisons, calling on state agencies to reconcile with the legacy of the 25 January revolution, and to allow people to speak freely about those who are subjected to violations or go on hunger strike as a result of being deprived of visits.
On the other hand, the El Nadeem Center Against Violence and Torture documented, in its report on the first quarter of 2026 (January – February – March), 609 incidents inside places of detention distributed across different categories. Cases of individual harassment topped the list with 178 cases, followed by reports of enforced disappearance with 79 cases, then reappearance after disappearance of 69 people, and 68 cases of state violence.
The centre also recorded during this period 55 cases of recycling and 51 cases of deliberate medical neglect, in addition to 46 cases of collective harassment and 22 cases of individual torture, as well as documenting 18 deaths in places of detention and 3 killings.
The arrest of writer and poet Ahmed Douma comes in the context of news of the release of others, some of whom spent long years in prison, reopening the debate about the contradictory signals the state sends to opponents and human rights defenders. The arrest of some activists and the release of others within hours of each other is not the first of its kind, as it has been repeated in previous periods.
The most prominent of these cases was what Zawia3 documented last September, in its report titled “Contradictory Signals: Between the Pardon of Alaa Abdel Fattah and the Detention of Ismail Alexandrani”.
