On Saturday, Egypt’s Supreme State Security Prosecution ordered director and screenwriter Omar Salah Marei's pretrial detention for 15 days pending investigation on charges of “deliberately publishing false news inside the country” over several social media posts.
Human rights lawyer Khaled Ali, who is representing Marei, said he appeared before the prosecution on the evening of May 16, 2026, after a period of “enforced disappearance” that began the previous week. Ali said the defense team had submitted official complaints to the prosecutor general and the minister of interior, demanding that authorities disclose Salah’s place of detention and enable him to exercise his constitutional and legal rights.
Marei's wife, Nora Elsayed, told Al Manassa that she and the defense team learned of the detention order only on the morning of May 17, despite having remained at the Supreme State Security Prosecution's premises until well past midnight on the night before, without being informed he was there.
“We were there until 11:30 pm. They did not tell us at all that he was there, and they did not allow us to communicate with him, even though we had sent telegrams reporting his arrest and disappearance,” she added.
ElSayed added that the interrogation session had taken place in the absence of Marei’s own lawyer. “We found out that a different lawyer attended the interrogation with him. So we know nothing of what happened inside the interrogation room, except the case number and that the charge is spreading false news based on several satirical posts about the general state of affairs. That's all we know, because they're not telling anything to his lawyer Khaled Ali, and they're not telling us anything, not even which prison he's in right now.”
The defense team warned that Salah’s health could deteriorate. Ali said in his complaints that his client has a thyroid condition that requires regular daily medication, and is still recovering from a surgery that involved the insertion of plates and screws, making urgent medical care necessary.
ElSayed echoed those concerns. “The situation is deeply alarming. Omar needs his medication and medical support. Any delay in care could lead to serious complications,” she said.
The defense team and family demanded that Salah be allowed to immediately contact his lawyer and family, and that he receive the necessary medical care in detention to ensure his physical and psychological safety.
Omar was arrested from his home in Sarayat El Maadi by plainclothes security personnel on Monday evening and taken to an undisclosed location, according to ElSayed's account to Al Manassa.
The incident began at around 7 pm, when the security force, accompanied by a Central Security Forces vehicle, approached the broker who had rented the apartment to the couple and asked him about an apartment where a director named Omar Salah Marei lived, before taking him to the building.
The security force went up to the apartment, where Omar was alone. They took him, along with the broker and the building's doorman, to the Maadi Police Department, which subsequently denied that he was in their custody.
According to ElSayed, both the broker and the doorman were held at the police department for around six hours before being released. The family received no information about Omar's whereabouts throughout.
