Egypt sentences poet to prison three years after presidential pardon

The sentence comes nearly three years after the former political prisoner was freed by a presidential pardon in August 2023, following nearly a decade spent behind bars.

The charge of "spreading fake news" is regularly levelled against Egyptian dissidents, including activists, journalists and academics, as well as everyday social media users.

Douma was most recently arrested in April after publishing an article on prison conditions in Egypt.

Rights group the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights said the article reflected his own experiences in prison, making imprisoning him on fake news charges "unconstitutional".

Rights group PEN America called the sentence "disgraceful".

"His case embodies part of an escalating crackdown on writers in Egypt, where poems and articles are routinely weaponised as courtroom evidence," said PEN's Asma Laouira.

A prominent figure in the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime president Hosni Mubarak, Douma was first convicted of taking part in an unauthorised protest and assaulting police officers.

His initial 25-year sentence was later reduced to 15 years, before he received a presidential pardon. He has been repeatedly interrogated, charged and released on bail since.

In 2022, President Abdel Fattah al‑Sisi revived a presidential pardon committee, which was billed as part of a broader human rights initiative which has released hundreds of political prisoners, including prominent British‑Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah.

However rights groups say a widening crackdown since has seen more people detained than those released, and further curtailed the space for dissent.

Egypt has also been criticised for a sweeping crackdown on online content creators that has landed young women influencers, comedians and commentators behind bars.