UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders Mary Lawlor has condemned the repeated legal targeting of Egyptian activist Ahmed Douma, calling for an immediate end to what she described as judicial harassment.
“The authorities must close all the cases against him and end this harassment,” Lawlor wrote Tuesday on her X account, calling the news “disturbing.”
The statement follows a decision by the Supreme State Security Prosecution on Monday to detain Douma for four days pending investigation, after he appeared in response to an official summons.
Prosecutors accused Douma of “spreading false news inside and outside the country” in a newly registered case, No. 2449/2026. According to his lawyer, Khaled Ali, the investigation focuses on Douma’s recent social media activity and a published journalistic article, which are being treated as “false news” designed to “disturb public peace and incite confusion” both domestically and abroad.
If convicted, Douma could face up to five years in prison, a fine of up to 500,000 Egyptian pounds, or both, under Article 80 (d) of the Penal Code, which imposes harsher penalties for spreading false news if the act occurs “abroad,” a provision human rights critics say is vaguely worded, raises constitutional concerns, and restricts freedom of expression.
The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), which also represents him legally, said in a Monday statement that Douma was detained following a six-hour interrogation over complaints filed by individuals accusing him of spreading false news, citing articles 80(d) and 102 bis of the Penal Code, which also criminalizes the intentional dissemination of false news.
Douma was released under a presidential pardon in August 2023, alongside other convicted individuals, after serving 10 years of a 15-year sentence in the Cabinet clashes case. He has since been consistently reporting on alleged human rights violations by security and judicial authorities, a topic that remains sensitive for the government.
In a piece published in Al-Araby Al-Jadeed on March 25, titled “ From a Prison within a State to a State Within a Prison,” Douma criticized what he sees as the shift of prison from an exception to a governing model of society.
Human rights NGOs expressed solidarity with the former political prisoner who they said was “being subjected to a series of unjustified ‘legal’ prosecutions.”
In a statement published on Monday, ten local NGOs contradicted authorities’ accusations, stating that Douma’s writings contained no misleading information and did not result in “disturbing public order.”
They argued that Douma was not only exercising his right to free expression, but also addressing matters of public concern, including his own accounts of violations in prison, according to a copy of the statement published by the Egyptian Front for Human Rights (EFHR).
Al Manassa has tracked the repeated summoning of Douma for investigation over the past two years, often followed by his release on bail in separate cases.
According to EFHR, the pattern has disrupted his ability to lead a normal life, as he remains under a travel ban and struggles to secure stable employment due to administrative obstacles limiting access to official documents. Douma has also paid around 230,000 pounds (around $4,200) in bail, equivalent to more than two years of minimum wages.
Rights groups say his case is not unique, citing similar patterns affecting other activists who are repeatedly summoned on comparable charges and released on bail, in what they describe as a form of indirect punishment and financial pressure.
