Ahmed Bayoumi, an Egyptian journalist with the independent outlet Erem News, is in pretrial detention on false news and anti-state charges.
Bayoumi was arrested on September 16, 2024 and was taken to an unknown location. In early November, after more than a month and a half of enforced disappearance, he appeared before the Supreme State Security Prosecution (SSSP) and was charged with joining and funding a terrorist organization.
He is currently detained in Borg El-Arab prison in Alexandria governorate, according to press freedom group Egyptian Observatory for Journalism and Media. CPJ has no information on the status of his health in custody.
Bayoumi’s arrest comes amid a new wave of journalist detentions in Egypt in 2024.
Bayoumi was previously been arrested in December 2017 on charges of membership in a terrorist organization and spreading false information, spending two years in detention before being released in December 2019.
The Ministry of Interior, responsible for the police, prison system, and prosecutor general’s office, did not respond to CPJ’s inquiries regarding Bayoumi’s case as of late 2024.