Egyptian authorities detained prominent independent journalist and researcher Ismail Iskandarani over Facebook posts critical of government policies, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Wednesday.

HRW reported that Iskandarani, known for his reporting on Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and state security abuses, was arrested on October 24, 2025, in Cairo after publishing a series of posts on Facebook commenting on Egypt’s domestic situation. Authorities have allowed his lawyers to meet him; however, they did not permit him to speak with them confidentially.

HRW said the detention is part of a broader pattern of Egyptian authorities’ repression of independent journalism and free expression. The organization noted that Iskandarani had previously spent over seven years in prison follo

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