Egypt: The Court of Appeal should quash the unjust sentence against Poet Ahmed Douma

‘With poet Ahmed Douma’s appeal hearing due to take place imminently, the Court of Appeal has an opportunity to reverse a grave miscarriage of justice and to reaffirm Egypt’s constitutional protection for freedom of expression. No one should be in prison for their peaceful expression’, said Ma Thida, the Chair of PEN International’s Writers in Prison Committee.

24 June 2026: PEN International calls on the Egyptian Court of Appeal to quash an unjust one-year sentence against poet and activist Ahmed Douma and release him immediately and unconditionally. The Appeals Court should reaffirm Douma’s right to freedom of expression and send a clear message against the ongoing crackdown on critical voices across the country.

On 3 June 2026, the New Cairo Misdemeanours Court sentenced Egyptian poet and activist Ahmed Douma to one year in prison on spurious charges, including ‘disseminating false news inside and outside the country to undermine national security’. The charges stem from his criticism on social media of detention conditions in Egypt, and an article Douma penned for Al-Araby Aljadid titled ‘From a Prison Inside the State to a State inside a Prison’. Both his social media commentary and his published writings are protected expression under international law and under Article 65 of the Egyptian constitution. Douma has appealed his conviction, and his appeal hearing is currently due to take place on 25 June. 

PEN International previously raised concerns about gross fair trial violations following Douma’s conviction, including the court rejecting requests from the defence to hear testimony from witnesses and experts, and ignoring requests to inspect detention facilities to verify the factual basis for his statement about the 24-hour lighting in prisons, a cause of sleep deprivation for those detained, which the prosecutor deemed as ‘false news’.  

Background

Despite receiving a presidential pardon in 2023 after being subjected to over a decade in prison, which was deemed arbitrary by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), the Egyptian authorities have continued to intimidate and threaten Douma in an effort to silence him. PEN International has documented a series of intimidating tactics, threats, and physical attacks designed to silence him and to discourage any peaceful expression that challenges the government’s narrative.  He has been repeatedly summoned for investigation and has faced similar charges in six separate cases related to his writings since 2024.  

For more information, please contact Mina Thabet, Head of the MENA Region, PEN International:[email protected]

For media queries, please contact Sabrina Tucci, Head of Communications and Campaigns, PEN International: [email protected]