Despite Deteriorating Health Conditions .. Detention of Journalist Sayed Saber and Nourhan Deraz Extended for 45 Days over Facebook Posts
On Monday, September 15, 2025, the Second Terrorism Circuit of the Cairo Criminal Court, convening at the Badr Court Complex, ordered the extension of the pretrial detention of journalist Sayed Saber for 45 days pending investigations in Case No. 6499 of 2024, and likewise extended the detention of Nourhan El-Sayed Ahmed Deraz for the same period in Case No. 3528 of 2024.
An attorney from the Egyptian Center attended Saber’s detention renewal hearing and requested his release on health grounds. On April 25, 2025, Saber underwent cardiac surgery and was subsequently transferred to the medical center at the prison complex before being returned to Al-Obour (10th of Ramadan) Prison.
Security forces arrested Nourhan, a retired deputy director at the Directorate of Social Affairs, from her home in the Hadayek Al-Ahram district of Giza Governorate on the evening of August 5, 2024. She was subjected to enforced disappearance for 12 days before being brought before the Supreme State Security Prosecution in Fifth Settlement on Saturday, August 17, 2024.
Nourhan was interrogated over a Facebook post in which she criticized the economic and political situation. She was ordered into 15 days’ pretrial detention on charges including membership in a banned organization, receiving foreign funding, publishing false news, and misuse of social media, and was subsequently transferred to Al-Obour (10th of Ramadan) Women’s Prison.
Nourhan has reported suffering in detention due to the denial of essential medications and blankets, despite her deteriorating health requiring specialized medical care. She has been diagnosed with a uterine tumor necessitating surgical removal, requires thyroid medication following a thyroidectomy, and suffers from other chronic conditions that demand continuous medical supervision.
