The Committee for Justice (CFJ) welcomes the decision by Egyptian investigative authorities to release blogger and journalist Mohamed Oxygen, pending his place of residence, after years of detention across multiple cases.
According to CFJ’s documentation, Oxygen’s detention dates back to October 2019, when he was arrested and interrogated in connection with Case No. 1356/2019, which included several activists. Although a release order was issued in November 2020, it was never implemented; instead, he was “recycled” into a new case—Case No. 855/2020—on the same charges of spreading false news and joining a banned group.
CFJ noted that Oxygen remained in pretrial detention in the second case for more than a year before being referred to trial in the first case, where he received a final sentence of four years in prison, which was upheld in January 2022. After completing his sentence on 3 January 2026, he was not released; rather, he was once again placed in pretrial detention in the second case until his recent release order.
CFJ considers the release of Mohamed Oxygen a long‑overdue positive step, particularly given the persistent concerns surrounding “case recycling” and the prolonged use of pretrial detention in his case.
The Committee calls for an end to the practice of recycling detainees into new cases on identical charges, and for ensuring that release orders are implemented immediately upon issuance. CFJ further urges a comprehensive review of the situation of all individuals held in pretrial detention over opinion and expression‑related cases, and calls for their release in a manner that upholds the rule of law and constitutional rights.
