Date of 1st day in prison: 21/09/2019 Released: No Restrictions: None |
Mohamed Ibrahim Radwan (known as Mohamed Oxygen) is an Egyptian blogger and employee in a publishing house who, in addition to his blog, ran a Facebook page and a Youtube channel called Oxygen Egypt where he published reports on human rights issues and interviews with human rights activists such as Gamal Eid, opposition figures and public personalities.
He was first arrested on 6 April 2018 and subjected to enforced disappearance for about a week, before being detained in pre-trial detention for over a year, on charges of publishing false news and joining an outlawed group in case 621/2018. Cairo criminal court accepted a release order with precautionary measures for him on 22 July 2019, and he was finally released on 31 July. He was allegedly held in solitary confinement and beaten in Tora prison, as well as prevented from receiving family visits.
On 21 September 2019, Mohamed Oxygen was transferred from the police station to the National Security Headquarters while carrying out the probation measures issued against him in state security case 621/2018. He was forcibly disappeared for 18 days before appearing before the prosecution where he was handed a 15-day detention order in case 1356/2019, on charges of engaging with a terrorist group to help achieve its aims, spreading false news and statements and misusing social media. His arrest came in the context of a widespread arrest campaign following the anti-government protests which began on 20 September.
On 3 November 2020, Giza Criminal Court replaced his pre-trial detention with precautionary measures in state security case 1356/2019, in which he was charged with cooperating with a terrorist group and disseminating false news. However, on 10 November, days after being ordered released on probation, which had not been implemented, the Supreme State Security Prosecution interrogated him in a new state security case (855/2020), accusing him of joining a terrorist group, and extending his pre-trial detention. This practice, known as “recycling” cases, is a common occurrence with human rights defenders and activists.
On 1 December 2021, 7 UN Special Rapporteurs and experts called on Egypt to halt the misuse of counter-terrorism measures against civil society activists, lawyers, journalists and human rights defenders, and to immediately release three of those arbitrarily detained, including Alaa Abdel-Fattah, Mohamed El-Baqer and Mohamed Oxygen.
Mohamed Oxygen was referred to trial with Alaa Abdel Fattah and Mohamed el-Baqer in case 1228 of 2021 in front of the Emergency Court in October and November 2021, facing the charge of “spreading false news”. The three human rights defenders’ lawyers were not allowed to make copies of the case file, nor to present a defense. The Emergency Court maintained jurisdiction over the case despite the end of the state of emergency declared by President Al Sisi on 25 October 2021. On 20 December 2021, Mohamed Oxygen was sentenced to four years in prison in a grossly unfair trial. The sentence is not appealable due to the nature of the court.
The European Parliament has repeatedly called for his immediate release in its recent resolutions on the human rights situation in Egypt (24 November 2022, 18 December 2020, 24 October 2019).
While in Tora prison, Mohamed Oxygen was in solitary confinement most of the time and deprived of family visits for over 2 years. This led him to attempt suicide in July 2021. In February 2022, his mother passed away. He refused to attend her funeral, which showed worrying signs of his deteriorating mental health.
In October 2022, he was transferred to the new Badr prison complex, where the lights are turned on 24/7 and surveillance cameras are permanently monitoring detainees. Mohamed Oxygen has finally been allowed regular family visits and has been more stable.
In November 2023, in occasion of the 31st annual Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Press Freedom Prize, Mohamed Oxygen received the Prize for Courage for covering protests in Egypt despite knowing he could face imprisonment.
For the latest updates on his case, follow the hashtags #أكسجين_مصر or الحرية_لمحمد_أكسجين on Twitter.