Galal EL-BEHAIRY
Image Credit: Anonymous
Poet and lyricist Galal El-Behairy continued to be held without trial at the end of the year. He has reportedly been tortured in detention. In August, the SSP brought new charges against El-Behairy in two separate cases, which PEN International believe to be fabricated and intended to further extend his unjust incarceration. The new charges, based solely on a 2023 report by National Security officers, include ‘disseminating fake news’ and ‘joining and aiding a terrorist organisation’.
El-Behairy was arrested on 5 March 2018 at Cairo International Airport while attempting to travel abroad, in connection with his lyrics for exiled Egyptian singer Ramy Essam’s song Balaha that was deemed insulting to the president. Charges related to the song were eventually dropped, but he was sentenced to three years in prison in a separate case for allegedly ‘disseminating false news and rumours’ and ‘insulting the Egyptian army’ in his unpublished poetry collection, خير نسوان الأرض The Finest Women on Earth. He has been held arbitrarily since expiry of his sentence in July 2021, facing new charges of ‘disseminating false news’ and ‘joining a terrorist group’ (see Case Lists 2018 - 2025).
In protest at his continued detention and detention conditions, El-Behairy has undertaken several hunger strikes, including between 16 June and 14 August 2025. El-Behairy’s family has informed PEN International that his health has significantly deteriorated due to his imprisonment, poor prison conditions, lack of adequate medical care, and prolonged hunger strikes. He suffers from high blood pressure, joint pain, heart problems and a tumour in his jaw. His mental health has severely deteriorated in recent years and he has attempted to commit suicide. PEN International has constantly campaigned for his release, including by highlighting his detention on the 2019 Day of the Imprisoned Writer.
Galal El-Behairy, born on 27 June 1990, is a poet and lyricist known for critical views of the Egyptian authorities. Two collections of his poetry have been published: Masna’a El Karasy (The Chair Factory, 2015) and Segn Bel Alwan (Colorful Prison, 2017).