Health Conditions Deteriorating .. Detention of Journalist Sayed Saber and Nourhan Deraz Renewed for 45 Days over “Facebook Posts”
The Second Terrorism Circuit of the Cairo Criminal Court, convening at the Badr Courts Complex, decided on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, to renew the pretrial detention of journalist and writer Sayed Saber for 45 days pending investigations in Case No. 6499 of 2024, and to renew the detention of Nourhan El-Sayed Ahmed Deraz for the same period in Case No. 3528 of 2024.
During the detention renewal hearing, the court allowed Saber to speak via video conference technology. An attorney from the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights attended the session and requested his release in light of his deteriorating health condition. Saber had undergone open-heart surgery on April 25, 2025, after which he was transferred to the Medical Center at the Badr Prison Complex, before being returned to his place of detention at Tenth of Ramadan Prison.
Security forces had previously arrested Nourhan Deraz, a retired administrative official at the Directorate of Social Affairs, from her home in the Hadayek Al-Ahram area in Giza Governorate on the evening of August 5, 2024. She was taken to an undisclosed location for 12 days, before appearing before the Supreme State Security Prosecution in the Fifth Settlement on Saturday, August 17, 2024.
Deraz was interrogated over a post published on her Facebook account criticizing the country’s economic and political conditions. She was subsequently remanded in custody for 15 days on charges including joining a prohibited group, receiving foreign funding, spreading false news, and misusing social media platforms, and was later transferred to the Women’s Tenth of Ramadan Prison.
Deraz reported suffering from the denial of necessary medications and blankets while in detention, despite her deteriorating health condition, which requires specialized medical care. She suffers from a uterine tumor necessitating surgical removal, requires thyroid medication following thyroidectomy, and also suffers from other chronic medical conditions that require continuous medical monitoring.
