The Supreme State Security Prosecution renewed the detention of lawyer Mohamed Abu El-Diyar, Rapporteur of the Committee for the Defense of Prisoners of Conscience, on Sunday, for 15 days pending investigation in Case No. 1502 of 2026 (Supreme State Security Registry), according to his defense team member, human rights lawyer Nabeh Elganadi.
Abu El-Diyar attended the detention renewal session by video conference, Elganadi told Al Manassa. During the session, he urged his defense team to keep the Committee for the Defense of Prisoners of Conscience running, saying he hoped its work would continue and that his “imprisonment would not go in vain.”
Security forces arrested Abu El-Diyar on May 25, alongside two of his committee colleagues—political activist Hanan Tantawy and human rights lawyer Wafaa El-Massry—following a simultaneous raid on their homes. Committee member and lawyer Ahmed Qenawy called the operation “unjustified intimidation” in comments to Al Manassa at the time.
After three investigation sessions, the Supreme State Security Prosecution ordered the release of Tantawy and El-Massry on bail of 50,000 Egyptian pounds (around $950) each, charging both with “spreading false news.”
Abu El-Diyar, however, remains in detention, facing the additional charges of “spreading false news, joining a terrorist group, and using a social media account for the purpose of committing a crime.”
Qenawy previously noted that the arrests were primarily triggered by a photo exhibition the committee had organized, featuring prisoners detained in opinion-related cases.
He added that authorities had already summoned several relatives exhibition participants for questioning before escalating their response to target the committee’s organizers directly.
On May 25, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) issued a statement calling on Prosecutor General Counselor Mohamed Shawky to intervene immediately to release Abu El-Diyar, drop the charges against all three committee members, and investigate what the organization called their unlawful pursuit and arrest, given that no crime had been committed.
Egypt: State security extends lawyer Abu El-Diyar’s pretrial detention
