Hisham Kassem

Hisham Kassem, former publisher of Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper and a free speech advocate, was detained on August 21, 2023 for four days for allegedly insulting a public employee. On September 16, 2023, Kassem was sentenced to 6 months in prison for slandering and defaming former minister and current member of Egypt’s presidential pardon committee, Kamal Abu Eita. Kassem was released on February 20, 2024.