Egyptian authorities arrested journalist Ahmed Fayez in November 2022 for reporting on imprisoned journalist Alaa Abdelfattah.
Fayez is the editor-in-chief of state-owned Facebook-based newspaper Akhbar El-Barlman, which covers news about the Egyptian parliament, according to news reports and a local journalist who is following the case and spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal.
On November 10, state security officers arrested Fayez from his home in Cairo for publishing a Facebook post on his personal page on November 8, in which he claimed that prison authorities are force-feeding imprisoned journalist Alaa Abdelfattah to keep him alive during his prolonged hunger strike, according to reports and the local journalist.
The same day, state prosecutors charged Fayez with spreading false news, misusing social media to commit a terrorist crime, and belonging to and funding a terrorist group, and ordered his detention renewed for 15 days pending trial, according to news reports and the local journalist.
On November 20, state prosecutors renewed Fayez’s pretrial detention for 15 days, according to a report by local Egyptian independent rights group Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE), and the local journalist.
As of late 2022, authorities have not disclosed Fayez’s place of detention. CPJ could not determine the status of his health in custody.
The Ministry of Interior, which oversees the police, the prison system, and the prosecutor general’s office, did not answer CPJ’s emails requesting comment on Fayez’s case in November 2022.