Egyptian authorities have detained prominent independent journalist Ismail Iskandarani over his Facebook posts, Human Rights Watch (HRW) confirmed on Wednesday, calling for his immediate and unconditional release.
In a statement, HRW urged the government to free Iskandarani and establish an independent committee to review the detention of thousands of peaceful critics, emphasizing that all individuals imprisoned for peaceful expression, assembly, or association should be released.
According to Iskandarani’s lawyers, security forces arrested him on September 24, 2025, at a checkpoint in Egypt’s Matrouh governorate, just two days after President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi pardoned activist Alaa Abdel Fattah and five others.
Iskandarani previously served seven years in prison (2015–2022) following what rights groups described as an unjust military trial over his journalistic work.
“Instead of using Alaa Abdel Fattah’s release as an opportunity to correct course, Egyptian authorities arbitrarily detained journalist Ismail Iskandarani after a lengthy Orwellian questioning over his Facebook posts,” said Amr Magdi, HRW’s Senior Middle East and North Africa Researcher. “This is a bellwether moment for the Egyptian government, and the only way out of its protracted crisis is to stop unlawfully detaining critics and journalists.”
In a Facebook post early on September 24, Iskandarani wrote that security forces had stopped him at a police checkpoint near Matrouh. His lawyer, Mahienour El-Massry, said a National Security Agency (NSA) officer confiscated his phone, blindfolded him, and took him to an unknown location. After several hours, he was brought before the Supreme State Security Prosecution (SSSP), where prosecutors interrogated him over 17 Facebook posts.
HRW reviewed the posts and concluded that they represent peaceful expression protected under international human rights law.
El-Massry said prosecutors denied Iskandarani’s lawyers access to the full investigation file, explaining the charges only verbally. The SSSP ordered him held in 15-day pretrial detention on charges of “spreading false news,” “belonging to a terrorist organization,” and “using a website to promote ideas inciting terrorism.”
Human rights lawyer Khaled Ali, who is also representing Iskandarani, said he was charged under State Security Case No. 6469 of 2025, which also includes Sinai activist Said Eteik, detained since late August over a separate Facebook post.
Ali added that authorities transferred Iskandarani to the 10th of Ramadan Prison Complex in Al-Sharqia governorate, and on October 5, an SSSP prosecutor renewed his pretrial detention remotely for another 15 days via videoconference. Lawyers were allowed to see him but could not speak privately.
HRW has documented the use of video conferencing in Egyptian court hearings since 2022, warning that the practice undermines due process by preventing judges from directly assessing detainees’ conditions and violates fair trial guarantees, including the right to confidential legal counsel.
Iskandarani’s legal team has expressed serious concern for his health, citing his diabetes and breathing difficulties. They said part of his sleeping medical device was confiscated by NSA officers during his arrest.
Under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt has consistently ranked among the world’s worst jailers of journalists, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Over the past decade, more than 170 journalists have been imprisoned in Egypt.
Source:Africa Publicity
