Al Dostor journalist Haidar Kandil appeared before the Supreme State Security Prosecution (SSSP) on Tuesday, 22 days after his family reported him missing. Prosecutors ordered him held for 15 days pending investigation in Case No. 5653 of 2026 (Supreme State Security) on account of his adherence to Shi’ism, according to Journalists Syndicate council member Eman Ouf.
Kandil’s family announced on June 22 that he had disappeared after leaving Al Dostor’s office in Dokki for a few minutes. His wife said at the time that she believed he had been arrested as part of a campaign targeting several Shi’a citizens ahead of Ashura.
The Egyptian Front for Human Rights (EFHR) said in a statement that the Supreme State Security Prosecution (SSSP) questioned 20 Shiites, including Kandil, on July 14 and 15 in connection with the same case.
Prosecutors accused the defendants of “leading a terrorist group,” “joining a terrorist group,” and “financing a terrorist group,” before ordering 19 of them held for 15 days pending investigation and releasing one defendant, whose name the rights organization did not disclose, EFHR explained.
According to the group’s statement, prosecutors questioned the defendants about their adherence to Shi’ism, how long they had been Shi’a, where they meet, and the nature of their religious practices.
The rights organization also said “the defendants were subjected to enforced disappearance at National Security facilities in Abbasiya and Giza” before appearing before the SSSP for questioning.
EFHR condemned what it described as “targeting citizens because of their religious beliefs and using counterterrorism laws to prosecute people based on their religious identity,” saying this violated freedom of belief and conscience guaranteed by the constitution and international conventions.
It called for the immediate and unconditional release of all detainees, an end to prosecutions based on religious affiliation, and an investigation into the alleged enforced disappearances the defendants were subjected to before being brought before prosecutors.
Egypt has faced criticism from local and international organizations over its human rights record, particularly regarding freedom of opinion, expression, and belief, as well as the targeting of artists and journalists. According to ARTICLE 19, authorities have for more than a decade relied on broad, formulaic charges to prosecute critics, journalists, artists, and other creators, keeping many behind bars for years through prolonged pretrial detention or trials that fall short of fair trial standards.
According to the statement issued by the international rights organization in late May, authorities are currently pursuing a series of security and legal cases against artists and cultural figures, including Al Manassa cartoonist Ashraf Omar, whose trial on “terrorism financing” charges was postponed by the Cairo Criminal Court on July 13 until Oct. 12, 2026, along with other human rights activists and dozens of journalists.
