Egypt: Writer and investigative journalist Ismail Alexandrani arrested and detained for speaking up on social media
Image Credit: Mahienour El-Massry,
“We are shocked to see Ismail being arrested again for speaking up against human rights abuses in Egypt. He endured more than seven years of unjust imprisonment for his work, and it's unacceptable to see him suffer further persecution for his views. Egyptian authorities must stop their crackdown on freedom of expression and end their abuse of pre-trial detention to stifle any criticism,” said Burhan Sonmez, President of PEN International
25 September 2025: PEN International strongly condemns the arrest and detention of award-winning writer, investigative journalist and socio-political researcher Ismail Alexandrany because of his online expression. Egyptian authorities have long weaponised repressive legislation to erode freedom of expression, punish any public or perceived dissent, and severely repress the rights to peaceful assembly and association.
The organisation calls on the Egyptian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Ismail Alexandrani, drop all charges against him, and ensure his access to adequate medical care pending his release.
Writer and investigative journalist Ismail Alexandrani was arrested on 24 September 2025 at a security checkpoint in Matruh governorate, Egypt. He wrote on his Facebook profile that he had been apprehended at the checkpoint. Shortly after, he lost all communications with the outside world. His friends and lawyers later learned that he had been presented before the Supreme State Security Persecution (SSSP) in Cairo in relation to case number 6469/2025 State Security. Alexandrani was questioned about 17 Facebook posts on his account. Some of the topics covered by these posts include cases of arbitrarily imprisoned fishermen and the use of “rotation” to prolong the arbitrary imprisonment of government critics, and a wide range of commentary on recent events in Egypt.
Despite the absence of any concrete evidence that Alexandrani had committed an offence, the SSSP ordered his pre-trial detention for 15 days after charging him with “joining a terrorist group,” “disseminating false news,” and “using an online platform to spread terrorist ideas.”
Alexandrani’s defence team raised concerns about his health condition while detained, as he is suffering from breathing difficulties and requires access to a respiratory device during sleep.
Background
Ismail Alexandrani is an award-winning writer, investigative journalist and socio-political researcher. He worked with several research centres, including the Egyptian Centre for Economic and Social Rights and the Arab Reform Initiative, and is best known for his research and writings on militant groups operating in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
Alexandrani was arrested on 29 November 2015 at Hurghada Airport upon his return from Berlin, Germany, and held in arbitrary pre-trial detention for over two years before being referred to a military court under the pretext of revealing military secrets.
In May 2018, Alexandrani was sentenced to ten years for “leaking military secrets” and “membership of an unlawful group”. On 24 December 2018, an Egyptian military court upheld the 10-year prison sentence against him. He was held at the Mazraa (The Farm) prison in Tora prison complex, where he was reportedly denied access to in-person visits with his family, as well as access to reading and writing materials. In December 2022, Alexandrani was released from prison after the Military Court of Cassation commuted his sentence to seven years.
PEN International has long campaigned for Alexandrani’s freedom, including during the 2022 World Press Freedom Day campaign. The organisation believes that Alexandrani’s detention and conviction were linked to his work, which challenged the government’s narrative on its counter-terrorism operations in the Sinai Peninsula. Alexandrani’s writings offered a thorough analysis of the situation in Sinai, encompassing the complex socio-economic interests of civilians and the military in the region, as well as the political mobilisation that occurred in Egypt during the Arab Spring in 2011. His work has been published in various regional and international media, as well as academic journals, including the independent Lebanese newspapers al-Safir and al-Modon, and the American Arab Studies Journal, Jadaliyya.
In 2015, Alexandrani was awarded the Visiting Arab Journalist Fellowship, Middle East Program, at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars. In 2014, he won the Open Eye - Hany Darweesh Award for Exceptional Essay. In 2009, he was one of the winners of the Global Winner in Youth Essay Contest on Democracy (World Youth Movement for Democracy), and the winner of the National Contest for Spreading Understanding and Mutual Respect, at the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies.
Note to editors
For further details contact Mina Thabet, Head of MENA Region at PEN International: [email protected]
For media queries, please contact Sabrina Tucci, PEN International Communications and Campaigns Manager, [email protected]