PEN America Decries Continued Imprisonment of Poet Galal El-Behairy, Who is Prepared to Escalate his Hunger Strike by Refusing Water
“Five years of arbitrary detention for nothing other than writing poetry and song lyrics has brought Galal El-Behairy to a point where his life is potentially in critical danger,… More
Mahmoud Saad Diab
A columnist and online commentator, Diab has written opinion pieces on international issues for the Al-Ahram state-run newspaper. He was arrested at Cairo International Airport as he was boarding… More
Mohames Mostafa Moussa
Moussa, a columnist for multiple outlets who has criticized President el-Sisi in his work, was arrested at his home in Alexandria and taken to an undisclosed location on November… More
Ahmed Douma
A poet, activist, and blogger, Douma was first arrested in 2013 due to his prominent role in the 2011 Egyptian revolution. He wrote his poetry collection Your Voice is… More
Egyptian Poet Galal El-Behairy—Jailed for Five Years for Writing a Song—Joins Hunger Strike Over Inhumane Conditions
“Galal El-Behairy’s continuing imprisonment and the revolving door of charges he faces--for writing a song--are an outrage, especially given that he has already completed a sentence on spurious charges.… More
Ashraf Hamdi
A political commentator and cartoonist, Ashraf Hamdi was arrested on January 25, 2021 after reposting a cartoon for the 10-year anniversary of the 2011 uprising which led to the… More
Abdel Nasser Salama
Abdel Naser Salama, a columnist and political commentator, was arrested in July 2021 for a Facebook post in which he called for President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi to resign. While held… More
Ahmed Abdo Muhammad Maher
Maher is an Egyptian author, lawyer, and thinker charged with “contempt for Islam” for his book criticizing religious extremism. Charged in October 2021, less than a month later he… More
PEN America Celebrates Release of Sanaa Seif
“We are overjoyed and relieved to hear that Sanaa has been released from prison and our thoughts are with her and her family as she begins to recover from… More
PEN America Condemns Five-Year Prison Sentence for Egyptian Blogger
"Alaa Abd El Fattah has done nothing more than share information and is being harshly penalized for exercising his right to free expression." More
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