Ramadan Gouida, a journalist for the Al-Youm news website, was arrested on May 1, 2024 while on his way home in Menofia Governorate and taken to an unknown location. After 40 days of enforced disappearance, he appeared before the Supreme State Security Prosecution (SSSP), which charged him with joining a terrorist organization and spreading false news.
His wife told the Egyptian Observatory for Journalism and Media that when authorities interrogated another journalist who previously worked with Gouida at the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated media outlet Freedom and Justice News in 2012 that journalist mentioned Gouida’s name, leading to his arrest.
Gouida is detained in the Wadi el-Natrun Prison complex in Beheira Governorate, north of Cairo. CPJ was unable to determine the status of his health in prison.
Gouida’s arrest comes amid a new wave of journalist detentions in Egypt.
The Ministry of Interior, responsible for the police, prison system, and prosecutor general’s office, did not respond to CPJ’s emails regarding Omar’s case in late 2024.