PEN America is deeply concerned by the ongoing harassment of Egyptian poet Ahmed Douma since he was released from prison in August 2023 after over a decade behind bars. Beyond living under a de facto travel ban, Douma has been a victim of physical assault, unyielding smear campaigns, judicial harassment, and other intimidation tactics intended to silence him. PEN America calls on Egyptian authorities to cease all harassment of Douma and supports for his unconditional freedom to write and speak without fear of retribution.
Douma published his revolutionary poetry collection Soutak Talee (Your Voice is Heard) in 2012. The poetry collection is a raw reflection of his time during the protest movements and his commitment to the “Revolution of Anger.” Egyptian authorities detained Douma in 2013, and even through more than ten years of wrongful imprisonment on a range of charges, Douma continued to write about his experiences and those of many activists. Now, nearly two years after his release through a presidential pardon, Douma remains an active voice, speaking out against freedom of expression violations in Egypt.
His most recent poetry collection Curly was released during the 2021 Cairo International Book Fair—only to be targeted by Egyptian authorities, who asked the publisher EL Maraya to remove the collection from the fair. His writing has also been targeted in online smear campaigns, as pro-government religious figures branded parts of Curly as “blasphemous.”
On October 15, 2024, three unknown, plainclothes assailants physically assaulted Douma after clearly identifying him in an apparently targeted attack.
In November 2024, Douma was summoned by Egypt’s Supreme State Security Prosecution (SSSP) and interrogated for eight hours after he was accused of “broadcasting and disseminating false news”—an accusation that appears to be related to his outspoken criticism on social media about a German cargo ship linked to transporting military-grade explosives to Israel, which had docked in Alexandria Port. These acts of violence, interrogations, and intimidation campaigns are part of a broader effort to silence one of Egypt’s most courageous literary voices. Ahmed Douma’s ongoing persecution is a chilling reminder of the price that many writers pay even after they are released from prison for writing and speaking truth to power. PEN America joins PEN International in urging Egypt to end its relentless persecution of Douma and demands his full and unconditional freedom to write.