An Egyptian court sentenced prominent activist and poet Ahmed Douma to one year in prison with hard labor for 'spreading false news,' according to state-run media outlet Akhbar al-Youm.
The verdict was issued Wednesday (April 2), nearly three years after Douma was pardoned by a presidential decree in August 2023, following nearly a decade of detention. He was most recently arrested in April 2024 after publishing an article in the London-based newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed about prison conditions in Egypt.
The charge of 'spreading false news' is frequently used against dissidents in Egypt, including activists, journalists, scholars, and ordinary social media users.
Amnesty International said that before his conviction, Douma 'was held in harsh pretrial detention conditions, including receiving fewer family visits than prison regulations allow and being kept under constant bright lights in his cell.'
The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) argued that the article reflected Douma's own experience in prison, making the conviction for 'false news' unconstitutional.
PEN America called the verdict shameful. Asma Laouira, a PEN representative, said: 'His case is part of an increasingly severe crackdown on writers in Egypt, where poems and articles are routinely turned into evidence in court.'
Amnesty International condemned the sentence, calling it an attack on freedom of expression. Mahmoud Shalaby, the organization's regional researcher, said: 'Unjust reimprisonment after an unfair trial is a devastating blow to freedom of expression. The weaponization of the criminal justice system against Ahmed Douma and other activists exposes President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's government's relentless campaign to suppress dissent and restrict civic space.'
Douma was a prominent figure in the 2011 uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak. He was previously sentenced to 25 years in prison for participating in illegal protests and assaulting police, later reduced to 15 years before being pardoned. Since his release, he has been repeatedly interrogated, arrested, and released on bail.
In 2022, President el-Sisi revived the presidential pardon committee, seen as part of a broader human rights initiative. It has released hundreds of political prisoners, including prominent Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah. However, human rights organizations argue that the expanding crackdown has resulted in more people being detained than released, and the space for dissent has shrunk.
