The charges were part of a new case against Bahgat [Mohamed El-Shahed/AFP via Getty]
Egyptian human rights activist Hossam Bahgat was released on bail Sunday after being charged with “joining and financing a terrorist group” and publishing “fake news and data”, a rights group said.
The charges were part of a new case against Bahgat, who was released on bail of 20,000 Egyptian pounds (about $400), the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, which he founded, said in a statement.
On Wednesday, EIPR said prosecutors had summoned Bahgat, who is also the group’s executive director, but “the summons did not specify the details of the case or the charges involved” at the time.
Mahmoud Shalaby of Amnesty International said Bahgat had “faced years of relentless harassment at the hands of the Egyptian authorities in connection with his legitimate human rights work”.
In 2016, Bahgat was banned from travelling and had his assets frozen on charges of illegally receiving foreign funds.
The case, initiated in 2011, was only closed in 2024.
In November 2021, he was fined 10,000 pounds for “insulting” the electoral authority, spreading “false news” and “using a social media account to commit these crimes” after a tweet criticising the former head of Egypt’s National Elections Authority.
Shalaby said the authorities were “reviving their reprisal campaign against him (Bahgat) in what appears to be a sinister attempt to silence criticism and reporting on their dismal human rights record”.
Cairo has in recent years made overtures to repair its human rights record, freeing hundreds of political prisoners.
However, rights groups say at least three times as many were arrested over the same period.
