Aida Seif El Dawla released on 50,000-pound bail in ‘false news’ case
Cairo Appeals Prosecution on Monday ordered the release of Aida Seif El-Dawla, co-founder of the Al-Nadeem Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence and Torture, on bail of 50,000 Egyptian pounds ($930). The prominent psychiatrist and veteran human rights champion is under investigation in Case No. 30 of 2026 on charges of “broadcasting and publishing false news inside and outside the country, and using an online account,” her lawyer, Haitham Mohamedain, told Al Manassa.
This is the second time in less than nine months that Seif El-Dawla —widely recognized internationally as a pioneer in documenting state-sanctioned violence and female genital mutilation— has faced investigation. The move has renewed deep concerns among political and rights groups about the Egyptian government's ongoing criminal prosecution of independent advocates who report on conditions inside prisons and detention facilities.
Mohamedain said the case stemmed from separate complaints filed at different times by 17 lawyers, one of them a woman. He said questioning focused primarily on a post Seif El-Dawla had shared on her personal Facebook account containing a statement issued by political parties about prisoners’ hunger strikes and protests.
He added that Seif El-Dawla acknowledged owning the account but categorically denied the charges. She and her defense team maintained that she had merely shared a public statement issued by named political parties and groups, without authoring or publishing any false news or accounts of events.
Asked about the decision to refer her to Cairo Appeals Prosecution rather than the Supreme State Security Prosecution, Mohamedain said that “staying away from the Supreme State Security Prosecution is, in any case, a positive development, given that Public Prosecution investigations are more disciplined and more committed to procedural safeguards.”
However, he added that “the continued filing of complaints and pursuit of cases involving publication and freedom of opinion and expression remains negative in itself.”
This is the second time Seif El-Dawla has been investigated in less than nine months. In February, the Supreme State Security Prosecution questioned her in Case No. 809 of 2026 over a report issued by the Nadeem Center on harassment and torture in detention facilities. She was released at the time on bail of 100,000 pounds on charges of “broadcasting false news.”
Before she was summoned for questioning this time, political and rights groups issued a joint statement expressing solidarity with her and condemning what they described as the systematic use of summonses before prosecutors as a means of punishing anyone who writes about or documents conditions inside detention facilities.
The signatories stressed that targeting Seif El-Dawla, a psychiatrist who has spent more than 30 years rehabilitating survivors and documenting their suffering, affects not only her but also every victim seeking someone willing to hear and record their testimony.
The statement was signed by the Bread and Freedom Party (under formation), the Egyptian Socialist Party, the Democratic Front, the April 6 Youth Movement and the Revolutionary Socialists Movement, along with 17 rights organizations and more than 170 public figures. It described the prosecution of Al-Nadeem Center’s co-founder as part of a recurring pattern of targeting journalists and rights advocates over the past two years.
According to the statement, the pattern begins with the publication of a report on prison conditions, followed by an unexplained summons, broad charges and, ultimately, hefty bail payments or prison sentences.
The statement cited several similar cases, including the investigation of Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights Executive Director Hossam Bahgat in January 2025, following the publication of a rights report on prison conditions. He was subsequently released on bail. It also cited the investigation of Mada Masr Editor-in-Chief Lina Attalah over coverage of prison protests, which culminated in an October 2026 ruling ordering the website’s closure, the confiscation of its equipment and a fine of 3 million pounds.
The statement also cited the prosecution of poet Ahmed Douma, who was summoned seven times after his release under a presidential pardon before receiving a one-year prison sentence over an article on prisons titled “From Prison Inside the State to the State Inside Prison.” It also pointed to the arrest of all six members of the news platform Matsadaash’s editorial team last September. They remain in pretrial detention.
The signatories linked this escalation to recent official pledges, particularly President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s reaffirmation in October 2026 of his commitment to respect the Constitution and leave office when his term ends in 2030. They stressed that respect for the Constitution “cannot be selective,” noting that it guarantees freedom of opinion and explicitly prohibits custodial sentences for publication offenses.
The statement argued that any genuine democratic transition requires opening up public space rather than prosecuting those who expose the truth. The signatories called for concrete measures, beginning with the release of prisoners of conscience, the reversal of decisions against Mada Masr, Ahmed Douma and the Matsadaash team, and the dismissal of both cases against Seif El-Dawla. They also called for civil society organizations and journalists to be allowed to visit prisons and independently inspect conditions, rather than face punishment for reporting detainees’ testimonies.