The New Cairo Misdemeanor Court on Wednesday sentenced political activist and poet Ahmed Douma to one year in prison with hard labor and immediate enforcement on charges of “disseminating false news that could disturb public security, spread fear among people, and harm the public interest.”
The charges stem from a Facebook post and article in which Douma criticized the treatment of political prisoners in Egypt, drawing on his own experiences in detention.
Amnesty International condemned Douma’s sentencing, calling it “unjust” and “emblematic of Egypt’s ongoing arbitrary detention crisis,” and has demanded his immediate and unconditional release.
Speaking to Al Manassa, Douma’s attorney, Khaled Ali, said the defense team will appeal the ruling and continue to seek a full acquittal. The defense, he continued, remains firmly convinced that “Ahmed Douma did not commit a crime, and what he said was merely an expression of opinion,” adding that the appeal will focus on demonstrating that the charges against him lack a legal basis.
Responding to earlier speculation that Douma could receive a sentence ranging from three to five years, the shorter sentence does not make the ruling “satisfactory,” Ali told Al Manassa.
“We remain committed to Ahmed’s right to full acquittal, and nothing else,” he added. “Therefore we will immediately appeal this ruling.”
Regarding the circumstances of the sentencing hearing, Ali revealed that the defense was unable to see or communicate with Douma inside the courthouse. Authorities “brought him to the court building,” he said, “But he did not appear in the courtroom.”
He added that the defense learned of the court’s decision from the court clerk, who read out the verdict, without Douma being allowed into the courtroom at the moment the ruling was issued. “The defense did not see Ahmed at all, even after the verdict was delivered,” he said.
The case stems from a Facebook post and an article published on Al-Araby Al-Jadeed in which Douma alleged that prison authorities used continuous bright lighting to deprive detainees of sleep, describing the practice as a form of torture. In April, the Supreme State Security Prosecution referred him to trial on charges of spreading false news over those allegations.
During the proceedings, Douma and his defense team repeatedly called for an independent inspection of the prisons where he was held and sought access to surveillance footage they said could verify his claims. The court also declined requests to hear testimony from current and former detainees, as well as media and legal experts.
Douma was arrested on April 6, 2026 and placed in pretrial detention. His detention prompted criticism from rights groups and international advocates, including UN Special Rapporteur Mary Lawlor, who condemned what she described as the repeated legal targeting of the activist and called for an end to the harassment against him.
Douma was released under a presidential pardon in August 2023 after serving 10 years of a 15-year aggravated prison sentence in the “Cabinet Clashes” case, one of the most prominent prosecutions stemming from the political unrest that followed the 2011 uprising.
