Egypt: PEN International welcomes the release of poet and activist Ahmed Douma and calls for an end to the attack on freedom of expression

August 2023: PEN International welcomes the release of Egyptian poet and activist Ahmed Douma after serving more than ten years of arbitrary imprisonment and stresses that Douma should have never been imprisoned. PEN International reiterates its call on the Egyptian authorities to immediately release all those imprisoned due to their exercise of the right to freedom of expression, including writer Alaa Abd El-Fattah and poet Galal El-Bahairy, and to end the government's crackdown on freedom of expression.

On 19 August, Douma received a presidential pardon with four other political prisoners. amid the country’s deepening economic and political crisis. Douma had been imprisoned since 2013 after facing trumped-up charges due to his critical views of the government. While imprisoned, he was denied the right to a fair trial, tortured, ill-treated, subjected to prolonged solitary confinement, and denied access to vital medications.

Responding to his release, Ahmed Douma told PEN International that:

“My joy remains incomplete and perhaps distorted. It lacks the release of all prisoners of conscience. I spent more than 12 and half years in prison, and every time [although I get released], I cannot be happy because of those I left behind [in jail]. I wished this was not the case this time, but unfortunately, it happened again. I hope we all can be happy again and take steps toward collective recovery; may we make a country worthy of us and what we wished and dreamed of. I will keep hoping that moment will come soon so that we can all, without exception, transcend and move towards the future. Perhaps I will return to writing and poetry and devote myself to what I like to spend my time with.”

Background

Ahmed Douma is a young Egyptian poet and a prominent activist who participated in the Egyptian Uprising that overthrew the Mubarak regime in 2011. Egyptian authorities arrested Douma on several occasions under different administrations and governments. He spent prolonged periods in arbitrary detention due to the practice of his right to freedom of expression. He has been arbitrarily detained since December 2013, when security forces arrested him over appearing at Abdeen Court in Cairo during a protest against a notorious protest law. He faced several charges that Egyptian human rights organisations considered trumped-up and came as a punishment for his critical views of the government. He was later convicted and sentenced to three years imprisonment followed by three years of parole.

In 2015, Douma faced several charges, including “illegal assembly” and “assaulting security forces” over his participation in protests known as “Alshoura council events” in 2011. He was handed a 25 years sentence and 17 million Egyptian pound fine (together with others) following a grossly unfair trial where the judge reportedly showed personal bias against him. The judge additionally sentenced him to a further three years for “insulting the judiciary” during the trial.

Douma’s lawyers appealed the sentence, and his case was sent to another court for a retrial. However, he was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment and 6 million Egyptian pounds following an unfair trial. In 2020, the Court of Cassation rejected his appeal and upheld the sentence against him.

Over his prolonged years in prison, Douma kept writing about his experiences, dreams, and aspirations in his poetry. He published his poetry collection “Soutak Talee” (Your Voice is Heard) in 2012 via Dewan publishing house. In his collection, he shared his revolutionary poetry and his experiences with several youth and reformist movements in Egypt, including Kefaya and 6 of April Youth Movement. Douma documented the dates and locations during his imprisonment at the end of this poem, in which he told his story of imprisonment and oppression.

Also, his poetry collection “Curly” was printed and published during the 2021 Cairo International Book Fair via EL Maraya publishing house. However, security officials attended the publishing house section during the fair and asked them to take down Douma’s poetry collection.

His health condition has been significantly deteriorating due to the poor detention conditions, including being held in solitary confinement for over eight years, which devastatingly impacted his mental health. Douma also suffered from severe joint, nerve and blood issues.

To read extracts of Ahmed Douma’s poetry, click here

Note to editors

For more information, please contact Mina Thabet, MENA Regional Coordinator, at PEN International, Koops Mill Mews, Unit A, 162-164 Abbey St, London, SE1 2AN, Tel.+ 44 (0) 20 7405 0338, email: Mina.Thabet@pen-international.org