‘Disgraceful’: Egypt jails activist Douma after article on its prisons

Egyptian activistic Ahmed Douma, a starring fig successful the 2011 uprising, has been repeatedly interrogated, charged and released connected bail since the pardon.

An Egyptian tribunal has sentenced salient activistic and writer Ahmed Douma to 1 twelvemonth of situation with labour for “spreading fake news”, according to authorities media Akhbar al-Youm.

The condemnation connected Wednesday comes astir 3 years aft the erstwhile governmental captive was freed by a statesmanlike pardon successful August 2023, aft astir 10 years down bars.

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The complaint of “spreading fake news” is regularly levelled against Egyptian dissidents, including activists, journalists and academics, arsenic good arsenic mundane societal media users.

Douma was astir precocious arrested successful April aft publishing an nonfiction successful the London-based pan-Arab quality outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed connected Egypt’s situation conditions.

Prior to his sentencing, Douma “had been held successful pretrial detention … nether restrictive conditions, including receiving less visits than permitted nether Egyptian situation regulations and being continuously exposed to aggravated airy successful his cell”, according to Amnesty International.

Rights radical the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights said the nonfiction reflected his ain experiences successful prison, making imprisoning him connected fake quality charges “unconstitutional”.

Rights radical PEN America called the condemnation “disgraceful”. “His lawsuit embodies portion of an escalating crackdown connected writers successful Egypt, wherever poems and articles are routinely weaponised arsenic courtroom evidence,” said PEN’s Asma Laouira.

Assault connected state of expression

Amnesty International condemned Douma’s sentencing, saying it was an onslaught connected the close to state of expression.

“The renewed unjust imprisonment aft an unfair proceedings of Ahmed Douma is simply a devastating battle connected the close to state of expression,” said Mahmoud Shalaby, Amnesty International’s determination researcher.

“The weaponization of the transgression justness strategy against Ahmed Douma and different activists lays bare President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s government’s relentless run to crush peaceful dissent and restrict civic space.”

Shalaby besides called connected Egypt to “immediately and unconditionally merchandise [Douma], quash this politically motivated sentence, and extremity their persistent misuse of the transgression judicial strategy against him”.

A salient fig successful the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime President Hosni Mubarak, Douma was archetypal convicted of taking portion successful an unauthorised protestation and assaulting constabulary officers.

His archetypal 25-year condemnation was aboriginal reduced to 15 years, earlier helium received a statesmanlike pardon. Since then, helium has been repeatedly interrogated, charged and released connected bail.

In 2022, President el‑Sisi revived a statesmanlike pardon committee, which was billed arsenic portion of a broader quality rights inaugural that has released hundreds of governmental prisoners, including salient British‑Egyptian activistic Alaa Abd El-Fattah.

However, rights groups accidental a widening crackdown has seen much radical detained than those released, and further restricted the abstraction for dissent.

“[Douma’s] condemnation exposes the hollow world of the statesmanlike pardons [that he] and others received successful 2023 and signals that activists released from prolonged unjust detention are not harmless from re-arrest,” said Shalaby.

Egypt has besides been criticised for a sweeping crackdown connected online contented creators that has seen young pistillate influencers, comedians and commentators imprisoned.