Egyptian political commentator Ahmed Douma is serving a one-year prison sentence over his criticism of conditions inside Egypt’s prisons.
He was last arrested on April 6, 2026 at the Supreme State Security Prosecution headquarters following a six-hour interrogation, which ordered his detention for four days pending investigation. On April 9, the Badr Misdemeanor Court ordered that he be held in remand for an additional 15 days.
On June 3, Douma was convicted to one year in prison on charges of publishing “false news and rumors inside and outside the country that would disturb public order” over social media posts and an article he wrote for the London-based news website The New Arab. In the piece, Douma describes his personal experience as a political prisoner, arguing that imprisonment has become a central tool of control for several governments across the region and the world.
The Cairo-based Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights said detaining Douma appears to violate Article 134 of Egypt’s Criminal Procedure Law, as well as Article 71 of the Constitution, which explicitly states that “no custodial penalty shall be imposed for crimes committed by means of publication or publicity.”
Douma is a poet, former political prisoner, and political commentator whose work has appeared in several outlets, including The New Arab, Arabi21, and the independent platform Sotour.
He previously spent approximately ten years in prison for his political activism before receiving a presidential pardon. Following his release in August 2023, he faced a travel ban, denial of official documents, and six interrogations by the Supreme State Security Prosecution over social media posts and opinion articles.
CPJ’s email requesting comment from Egypt’s Public Prosecutor’s Office did not receive an immediate response.