15 November 2024
On the Day of the Imprisoned Writer, REDWORD for Human Rights and Freedom of Expression draws attention to one of the victims of political detention and pretrial imprisonment in Egypt. The organization calls for all charges against writer and poet Galal El-Behairy to be dropped and demands his immediate release.
Arrested in 2018, Al-Behairy was sentenced to three years in prison for “insulting the military institution” through satirical poems critical of the Egyptian regime. Although his release was due in 2021, new charges were filed by the Public Prosecutor, accusing him of “belonging to a terrorist group and spreading false news.”
El-Behairy is now in his seventh year of detention for peacefully expressing his views. During this time, he has faced numerous violations, including being recycled into a new case with fabricated charges after completing his original sentence, medical neglect, and mistreatment. Last year, he went on a full hunger strike in protest of his continued detention, demanding his freedom.
On this Day of the Imprisoned Writer, we call for freedom for Galal Al-Behairy and all prisoners of conscience in Egypt.
