Alaa Abdel Fattah is a free man again

After a bitter and prolonged legal struggle, the famous Egyptian-British Blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah.

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi granted a presidential pardon to six prisoners, including the Egyptian-British blogger and human rights activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, for the remainder of their sentences earlier Monday.

Updated at 23/9/25 : 

Alaa Abdel Fattah was released early Tuesday morning, and he arrived at his house in Dokki from the police station when his family, friends and reporters were waiting for him at the prison. 

So, the family went back, and we saw those wonderful photos and videos.

Tal al-Mallohi is free in Syria’s Homs

Here are the first photos of Syrian blogger Tal al-Mallohi free, healthy and alive in Syria’s Homs.

Tal al-Mallohi in Homs on Monday

Those photos were taken on Monday in her hometown.

Tal al-Mallohi was among the first batch of female detainees freed from the notorious Adra prison on the outskirts of North Damascus on Saturday hours before declaring Bashar Al-Assad and his direct family fled the country to Moscow.

Her relatives in Homs took her back home. 

Tal al-Mallohi was only 19 years old, a young blogger, when she was detained in December 2009 by security personnel at the Syrian embassy in Cairo. Her family had moved to Cairo at the time for her safety.

Tal al-Mallohi became a celebrity and icon in Syria already

People think that al-Mallohi was detained for the first time when she was 19 years old but actually, her ordeal began when she was 16 years.

During this, the Syrian state security interrogated her Syria for something she wrote about Syria on one of her bloggers. Tal did not usually speak about Syria or criticise Bashar Al-Assad. Her blogs in Arabic were all about Palestine and Jerusalem.

After being enlisted on the security watch list she was not able to join high school, thus her family had to move to Cairo so she could study in high school. 

But in December 2009 Tal was detained at the Syrian embassy and was sent back home for outrageous charges involving espionage for the United States.

During the opposition activists revealed had to do how she rejected the sexual advances of a Syrian prominent security officer at the embassy in Cairo.

Tal was the youngest Prisoner of conscience to be arrested in the Arab world. The young blogger was sentenced on February 15, 2011, to five years in prison.

Being the granddaughter of a former state minister for parliamentary affairs Mohamed Diaa al-Mallohi during Hafez Al-Assad’s administration did not help her.

Tal's mother Ahed al-Mallohi wrote a letter that appealed to the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad himself, asking him to intervene and order the release of her daughter but that letter did not help her daughter either.

Back in Egypt, upon learning about her arrest months later, the Egyptian blogging and journalism community demanded her release and protested against her detention, both in person and online.

Tal was to be released in 2014, but she did not, and we all know why. It was during the peak of the war between the rebels and El-Assad. More people were arrested than released during then.

Tal spent an extra ten years, a whole decade in prison.

That photo was taken by a mobile phone secretly and
was smuggled to her family during her time in prison 

Before 8 December 2024, I had the unfortunate feeling that she was not alive, but God’s mercy is above all.

Tal entered Al-Assad's prison when she was only 19 years old and left it at 33 years old. I can’t image what she has been through but I know that nightmare is over.

Now I have a side question as I read more and more about the Adra prison: What kind of a sick mind names a prison that is more of a concertation camp Adra which means in slang Levantine and Egyptian Arabic virgin aka the Virgin Mary.”

Dear Yahia Abu El-Gheit, your father was a noble man

Dear Yahia Abu El-Gheit,

I do not know if you are going to read this post one day or not, but I hope you stumble upon it when you search more about your late father Mohamed Abu El-Gheit.

I did not know your father personally, but we share many things it turned out that we read the same young adult fiction writers as teens and young adults also.

Mohamed Abu El-Ghait (1988-2022)

We also did not study media or mass communication officially, but we turned our passion into our profession with all its ups and downs, all triumphs and defeats in the most difficult of times in the most difficult places in the world to share the truth or to express an opinion.

I have to say your father is the kind of journalist I wish to be one day, but he was one of a kind.

I did not know your father personally, but we had many common friends who all shared a common opinion about him: he was a noble name.

He was an honourable honest young man in time terms like honour and honesty became a rarity in this big vast world especially in the world of media in the Arab world.

I am writing this on the day that your father was buried in London. “I hope one day that he would be buried in his home country Egypt which he truly adored and hoped the best for”

Aside from the London funeral, there was an online uncoordinated natural virtual vigil made of pure love. Many strange people virtually expressed their sorrow and condolences for the early departure of your father after a battle with a cursed disease that I hate more and more now as it takes our best.

Egypt’s Media Trial before the official trial: The fall of the Original Tiktok girls “Haneen Hossam and Mawada El-Adhm”

On Monday, a Cairo Criminal Court sentenced prominent TikToker and influencer Haneen Hossam on Monday to three years in prison and a-LE 200,000-fine on charges of human trafficking in the latest episode of her trial along with influencer Mawada El-Adhm.

The Criminal Court had sentenced Hossam in June 2021 from 6 to 10 years in prison and a LE-200,000 fine in absentia along with famous influencer Mawada El-Adham on charges of human trafficking in a trial that made international infamous headlines as usual.

Mawada El-Adhm and Haneen Hossam 

For Haneen, this is a first-degree sentence as this is considered a retrial. The sentence is considered a reduction from the 10 years sentence she received in absentia in 2021.

In August, I read that Mawada El-Adham’s lawyer presented an appeal against the 6-years-sentence-in-prison, but I do not know if it was accepted or not. If accepted then, she would receive a retrial.

Now aside from all that is written about the two girls and their trials whether in Egypt or abroad, one must say that those two girls were found guilty already before even being standing an official trial.

Haneen and Mawada or the Tiktok girls’ case was an original Egyptian trial by the media and society even right before their arrest especially Haneen Hossam in the summer of 2020.

Hossam before her arrest was the talk of the social media in Egypt and it is about her flashy makeup “she used a lot of filters” or dancing in skinny jeans while wearing a veil.

Sanaa Seif is Free

It was not a real bad week for the Seifs after all as their youngest sibling and renowned activist Sanaa Seif has been released after serving an 18-months-prison sentence on Thursday.

Sanaa is free and she returned home.

Egyptian activist Sanaa Seif and her dog Toka after
returning home on Thursday "Mona Seif 

The youngest Seif activist was sentenced by a Cairo criminal court in March 18 months in prison over spreading news.

In June 2020, She was arrested on charges of spreading false news on her Facebook account when she spoke about the spread of coronavirus in prisons, which the Ministry of interior totally denied.

#FreeAlaa : Alaa Abdel Fattah, Baqer and Oxygen handed final prison sentence

It is once again Free Alaa.

Earlier Monday, Cairo Emergency State Security Misdemeanor Court sentenced famous renowned activist and blogger Alaa Abdel El-Fattah to 5 years in prison and his co-defendants in the trial, his own lawyer Mohamed El-Baqer and blogger Mohamed Oxygen were sentenced 4 years on charges related to the spread of false news according to his sister Mona Seif.

From left to right: Alaa, Baqer and Oxygen 

It is a final court ruling that can’t be appealed.

Only a presidential pardon or rather a military ruler’s pardon can set them free before the end of the 5 years in this case. 

It is unclear if this sentence will be deducted from their pretrial detention.

Alaa, Baqer and Oxygen spent more than two years in pre-trial detention - more than is allowed under Egyptian law since their arrest in 2019 following the protests that broke that fall over the videos of private contractor Mohamed Ali. 

What we really know about the Tiktok girls trial “The Myth and Truth”

Last Sunday, a Cairo Criminal Court issued her verdict in the case of Egyptian Tiktok influencer Haneen Hossam and Mawada El-Adhm on charges of human trafficking.

The Court sentenced 19-years old Haneen Hossam to ten years in prison while 23-years-old Mawada El-Adhm was sentenced to six on charges related to human trafficking after they were referred to court last March by Prosecution.

Here are basic facts in the new case I believe to be lost between public hate to girls dancing in skimpy dresses, official human trafficking charges and accusations of patriarchal control over women’s bodies.

Some of these facts social media ignores whether ignorantly or deliberately.

Mawada El-Adhm "L" and Haneen Hossam "R"

The Criminal court sentenced Haneen Hossam to ten years in prison, which is the maximum penalty in this trial because her trial was in absentia. The defendant receives a maximum penalty when he or she stands a trial in absentia in Egypt.

Following her sentence, Haneen Hossam disappeared and then reappeared in a video without any filters or make-up or her green lens with darker natural hair in a crying plea to Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and the public on Tuesday.

In the two-parts-video “Part 1 and Part 2”, the girl coming from the working class denied all the charges she was found guilty of, above them human trafficking.

“How would a 19-year-old girl commit human trafficking? That is a very big term that I do not even know about. I never hurt anyone,” She said in the video seen by 5 million in total “both parts” on Instagram. She spoke about details in the case I will mention it later.

The video was published on her Instagram account where she deleted all her other old videos.

She published the last video at 1:16 AM then in the morning she was arrested by security forces in Cairo's Shubra to serve her term.

Now Haneen Hossam is arrested, she will have a retrial. According to her lawyers will be in July. The Criminal Court is going to release its reasonings within 30 days following its verdict last week.

This court’s verdict is considered a first-degree sentence that can be and will be appealed by the lawyers of the defendants as far as soon the court releases its reasoning.

The case or the trial has nothing to do with Haneen Hossam’s leaked phones calls or Mawada El-Adhm’s “bikini photos” or “sex life” or “sex clips” or any of that YouTube clickbait titles.

I will start with Mawada El-Adhm’s part.

Remembering Nabil aka @Ternz : Too early to leave

I do not know how old he was or now much about him in real life except that his name is Mohamed Nabil and he was a talented online cartoonist on Twitter.

The famous avatar of Ternz on Twitter

for years 

That young man whom I knew through Twitter passed away last week in a road accident that made all those who followed him for years in a shock.

I do not recall when exactly I started to follow Mohamed Nabil or as commonly known on Twitter as Nabil or @Ternz but I remember it was during the 2013 craze and he was among the reasonable funny voices on online.

His Twitter alias then was very unique and interesting “ I am a Salafist and I do not hate you”.
Yes, he was Salafist and he had this famous and cool avatar made by Egyptian cartoonist Sherif Adel aka Barbatoz.
Yes, his name was “Salafist” and he did not hate anybody. On the contrary, he was not your stereotype of Salafists who reject arts or music or even science.
He changed into Blue in solidarity with the Sudanese revolution later.

He made very beautiful and smart black comedy cartoons about social and political issues in Egypt.

#Egypt_is_happy a cartoon about the inauguration of the

Suez canal extension in August 2015

#FreeAlaa once again : 2019 edition

A Cairo state prosecution ordered from a couple of hours ago the detention of famous political activist Alaa Abdel Fattah 15 days pending an investigation into the charges of spreading false news and joining a banned group.

Alaa once again is arrested "Photo: Mona Seif"

Abdel Fattah was arrested earlier Sunday as soon as he finished his probation period at Dokki police station in Giza.
If you forgot, I would like to remind you that the software developer was serving a 5-years-probation sentence which means in his case to spend 12 hours in a police station after serving 5-years in prison.
He had just finished his prison sentence in March !!

The famous blogger was sentenced to five years in prison and another five years on probation in February 2015 on charges of rioting, participating in an unauthorized protest, disrupting the lives of citizens and exposing them to danger, attacking an employee while on duty and thuggery in the so-called “Shura council trial”.
Trying to rebuild his life once again in 12 hours per days, Abdel Fattah does not have time for political activism and calling for protests like in the old days.

Hours and Officially Alaa Abdel Fattah to be half free man (P.S He is already a free man) "Updated"

Updated :

-  Friday @1:34 AM: Mona, Alaa's sister announced that he was released from Dokki police station.
at  2:19 AM: Alaa was at home and met the nicest member of his clan 😀

اللقاء الأول
علاء وتوكة
💓 pic.twitter.com/mjkugrqrR3

— Mona Seif (@Monasosh) March 29, 2019

-Thursday @11:35PM Cairo Local time: Alaa Abdel Fattah is actually at Dokki police station where he is spending the first 12 hours of his probation there. 

- Wednesday evening: Alaa Abdel Fattah will be released inshallah from Kasr Al-Nil police station in Cairo's Garden city on Thursday or Friday maximum according to his family.
Here is his first photo outside the prison on Wednesday.

Alaa Abdel Fattah outside prison "Twitter"

Within few hours inshallah, Prominent Egyptian activist and blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah is going to be released after serving 5 years in prison on charges related to illegal protesting.

Alaa Abdel Fattah "AP"

Alaa Abdel Fattah was sentenced to five years in prison and another five years on probation in February 2015 on charges of rioting, participating in an unauthorized protest, disrupting the lives of citizens and exposing them to danger, attacking an employee while on duty and thuggery in the so-called “Shura council trial”.

Egypt’s Cybercrime law : Because one law is not enough to tame social media

The Egyptian House of Representatives has been very active in early June approving and passing several laws that technically kill any freedom of speech margin left in the country especially in the social media realm.

On 5 June “Special cursed date indeed”, Egypt’s parliament passed after many months the Cybercrime law which regulates social media and web content as well ISP surveillance.
If the law of Supreme Council of Media “SCM” puts popular social media network accounts, the newly approved Cybercrime law puts all Egyptians online under the law whether they are popular and have more than 5,000 followers or subscribers or not.“5000 followers out of 100 million Egyptians technically are a threat to the Egyptian national security.”
bloggers with 5,000 followers or subscribers under that law, the

Thanks Facebook banner in those days of January 2011
"Reuters" 

There are many articles in that law that technically can be described as loose and vague anti-freedom of speech articles directly based on what I have read in the past few days online.
Article No.7 stipulates that the authorities have the right to shut down or block any Egypt-based or foreign website that incites against the Egyptian state or threatens its national security through the use of digital content.

Happy F*cking World Press Freedom Day Dear Egypt

Another World Press Freedom Day comes and Egypt’s Press is having its worst days ever.
According to Reporters without borders “RSF”, Egypt is considered one of the World’s biggest prison for journalists as there are currently 27 journalists detained and imprisoned as well 5 citizen journalists detained and imprisoned.
It is already ranking 161 in the 2018 World Press Freedom Index out of 180 countries.
It is the 11th worst Arab country and 7th worst African country when it comes to press freedom.
It did not change from 2017.

Freedom of the Press worldwide in 2018
"RSF"

I do not know if it is good or bad for real but it is sad that Egypt appears among the black countries in the RSF map once again.
Reporters Without borders’ official website is already blocked in Egypt and I think this says a lot.

Speaking about blocked websites in Egypt, I believe the number of those websites are exceeding more and more.
During the Presidential elections in March, Egyptian news and citizen journalism website Al-Manassa was blocked in Egypt because it dared and exposed the truth of the so-called US Congress observers delegation in the elections.

They Block Blogs now in Egypt !!

The last time I wrote about websites being blocked in Egypt when they were only 93 websites in June.
A whole month passed and the list of websites in Egypt increased madly that it became a necessity to have a VPN on your computer or mobile phone if you are a journalist.
Now the number of websites blocked in Egypt reached 133 websites according to Cairo-based human rights law firm Association for Freedom of Thoughts and Expression “AFTE”
The latest two websites to blocked in Egypt are Arab Network for Human rights information “ANHRI”  and journalist Ahmed Gamal Ziada’s personal blog.

I am not surprised to find ANHRI joined the blocked website as its executive director, famous human rights activist Gamal Eid is currently banned from travel and his assets have been frozen for several months now. Eid is currently investigated along with other prominent human right activists like
Hossam Bahgat and Mozn Hassan in the
infamous foreign funding to Egyptian NGOs for several months ago.

I must not forget here to speak about Gamal Eid’s personal project which is a series of children libraries in highly populated working poor class areas in Nile Delta and Cairo was closed down.
Yes, Karma library or dignity library for children was closed down by security orders in Cairo and Nile delta governorates.
Egypt’s official candidate for UNESCO’s secretary general position, former ambassador Moshira Khattab announced her rejection for the closure of the libraries and even visited one of those libraries but the government did not care.
Back to the blocked websites that increase now by the week instead of the day.
ANHRI is considered the fourth human rights NGO website to blocked in Egypt after Sinai Organization for human rights, Al-Jazeera center for public freedoms and human rights and the Arab Monitor for media freedom.

In a very alarming development, journalist Ahmed Gamal Ziada’s personal blog was blocked in Egypt.
This is the first time a personal blog in Egypt is blocked like that. Ziada was using his blog to share his news reports to overcome the block imposed on the Websites he used to write for including Masr Al-Arabia website.

Free Alaa : One year later

Today marks one year since the imprisonment of Egypt’s renowned blogger and activist Alaa Abdel Fattah and the rest of the Shura Council detainees.

Free Shura case detainees 

Today thousands of people across the world are participating in a twitter storm to remind the people and the world about Alaa Abdel Fattah and his cause in Egypt as well the cause of many detainees like him under hashtag “#FreeAlaa”
In the past few hours, my twitter timeline and Facebook timeline turned red and orange with Alaa’s avatar while sharing his famous quotes.

Esraa El-Taweel got another 15 days-detention renewal

The state security prosecution renewed on Wednesday the detention of Freelance photojournalist Esraa El-Taweel pending investigation for another 15 days.
Esraa has been in detention after being forcibly disappeared from the street in front of Chili’s in Maadi for nearly 104 days if I am not mistaken.

Esraa smiling last Wednesday to her family and friends 

The young cheerful outgoing girl who loves life and her friends is facing the charges of belonging to a banned group and sending false photos to news outlets to defame Egypt.
Esraa is accused of being a member in the Muslim Brotherhood, a group which is officially designated as a terrorist organization in Egypt.
On Wednesday, more photographers and video-journalists came and filmed Esraa in her way to the interrogation at the State security Prosecution.

Where are Esraa El-Taweel and friends ?

Where is Esraa El-Taweel? Where is Sohip Saad? Where is Omar Mohamed? 

For 13 day, Freelance photographer and University student Eraa El-Taweel has  disappeared along with her friends Sohip Saad and Omar Mohamed in Maadi since 1 June 2015 when they all went for horseback riding and then dinner.

Sohip , Esraa and Omar

They have not been seen since then. Their mobile phones have been closed yet last week the families of El-Taweel and Mohamed got missed calls from their mobile phones for one just one second and then the mobile phones went off.
The Ministry of interior as well the military prosecution denied that they were detained as their facilities and detention centers as it was spread earlier.
 There was a popular theory that Esraa was arrested because she was taking photos at the Corniche El-Nil in Maadi and the military police arrested her and her friends. Nevertheless
I know Esraa El-Taweel as a blogger and tweep.
She is also a very talented photographer in the revolution who is outgoing and cheerful, loving life and adventure.

Esraa and her camera 

She was raised in Saudi Arabia where her father works yet she came to Egypt to complete her university  study. A friendly person, El-Taweel had friends from Islamists , liberals and leftists. El-Taweel was close and a friend to many young MB members and she used to take photos of their weddings. Yet Esraa El-Taweel is not an MB member.
She used to cover the protests but she was not a political activist.
On 25 January 2014, the cheerful and outgoing girl was shot by security forces when they dispersed the protests at Mostafa Mahmoud square during the commemoration of the January revolution anniversary.
The injury made her lose her ability to walk and already there is another firearm shot was still in her body, in her stomach to be precise that can not be extracted. For many months, Esraa could not move and was using a wheelchair. Only from couple months ago Esraa began to move around without a wheelchair.
After her injury, Esraa began to lose in politics and called her friends not to go to Pro-Morsi rallies and protests because they would either shot down or injured or arrested. She was only cared about her family, her friends and her pets especially her cat Woody. Now Woody is depressed after the sudden absence of her friend and does not want to eat.

Why am I saying all this?

#FreeAlaa : Alaa and protesters sentenced 15 years in jail

This is not the kind of news you want to hear in early morning.
Prominent activist and blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah and other 24 protesters have been sentenced 15 years in jail and 100,00 LE Fine early morning in absentia.

This is just ridiculous when you hear what happened in today's session. Another episode of that on going TV series in crazy verdicts in Egypt.
Today the Cairo criminal sentenced the 25 protesters in the Shura Council clashes trial. The judge issued his sentence in absentia despite the fact that Alaa Abdel Fattah , Wael Matawally and Ahmed Abdel Rahman , the defendants were waiting outside the court "at police academy" and were trying to get in.
The court claimed that the defendants did not show up where as there were thee of them trying to get in.
Needless to say the three were arrested and currently in detention. Of course as this is an absentia court verdict , I believe there should be a retrial.

A photo for Alaa earlier this morning "Al Masry Al Youm"

BY the way Alaa did not call for this protest , the No For Military Trials campaign called for it. He did not steal the Walkie Talkie or attack any officers. There are video and photos showing the whole affair.
There are other protesters in the trial , please do not forget them.
Among those Wael Matawally is a mobile phone apps developer , already he and his company were awarded. Wael is a dual nationality citizen and got an Italian passport yet he has never used it.
Ahmed Abdel Rahman "Noubi" was on his way home when he saw women protesters attacked by security forces and tried to defend them. Again there are photos showing this
Alaa Abdel Fatah is still facing two trials by the way : Torching Shafik's campaign HQ and insulting judiciary.

From 40 Days Ago I lost a Friend

Yesterday I found out that from 40 days ago I was shocked to know from twitter that my dear friend Bassem Sabry passed away in a tragic way.

Bassem in Abu Dhabi last year 

40 days and I am trying to something about him in my blog not as a mourning as a something to celebrate to the life who gave a lot in a very short time. 

I was lucky enough to know Bassem Sabry when we were students in Cairo University and I saw that shining like a little star in campus during the students activities. 

I am trying to overcome my feeling that if I write about him it will be like an obituary , a thing that I dislike because I know that Bassem and his ideas are still living with us through his writing. 

I miss him now more than ever. 

Now I decided to remember Bassem and let the world remember him in a new way. Bassem Sabry used to play Spanish Guitar and he recorded some pieces on Soundcloud. He was not only a blogger/writer/young politician. He was really multi-talented.

Aziz Amami is Free

Tunisian Blogger and activist Aziz Amami is a free man once again. Yesterday a Tunisian court rejected the case against him admitted by the prosecution.

Free Aziz last night "Twitter" 

During the session , Amami said that he did not have weeds when he was arrested accusing the police of fabricating the charges.
Amami stated in court that he was beaten during his arrest.
The Tunisian Blogger already accused the police of fabricating charges to activists as well torching police stations on 14 January 2011 in a TV interview couple of weeks before his arrest.
The court dismissed the case.

#FreeZone9Bloggers : Blogging is not a Crime

Blogging is not crime but in third world dictatorship regimes it is just like journalism and any sort of Media trying to bring out truth to the public. We have more our share in Africa when it comes to these shares.
There are 9 journalists and bloggers who have been arrested in Ethiopia for no real reason except covering the news and expressing their view about the government.

The bloggers of Zone 9 Blogging collective "Endalk"

Six bloggers and 3 journalists “members of Zone 9 blogging collective” were arrested in Ethiopia late April and were accused of inciting violence against authorities through social media. Last week they stood a trial where they revealed that they were physically abused during their detention.