Ahmed
Gamal Ziada

Background and Work

Ahmed Gamal Ziada is an Egyptian journalist, investigative reporter, and human rights researcher. He is the editor-in-chief of Zawia3, an independent news website that publishes reporting on social, economic, and political rights in Egypt. His investigative work has been featured in Masr Alarabia, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, and Al Jazeera. Before leaving Egypt, he worked as a human rights researcher with several Egyptian rights organizations. He is a consistent advocate for freedom of expression and the release of imprisoned journalists.

Zawia3 has published critical analysis of the Egyptian government's economic policies, the state of political freedoms, and the so-called national dialogue initiated by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. In the months leading up to the December 2023 presidential election, Ahmed wrote several articles documenting restrictions on political organizing, media, and civil society. The website has also published investigations into arbitrary detention and prison conditions.

Previous Arrests and Torture

Ahmed Gamal Ziada has been arrested twice by Egyptian authorities for his journalism. On 28 December 2013, he was arrested while covering protests at Al-Azhar University as a photojournalist for Yaqeen. He was held in pretrial detention for 16 to 18 months and subjected to physical violence and torture. He was acquitted and released in 2015. On 29 January 2019, he was detained at Cairo airport on his return from Tunisia, held incommunicado for about two weeks, and then charged with spreading false news. He was released on bail in March 2019.

Following his release in 2019, Ahmed left Egypt and relocated to Belgium, where he is pursuing studies in international relations and political science. He continues to report on human rights violations in Egypt and to advocate for press freedom from exile.

Arrest of His Father

On 22 August 2023, Egyptian security forces arrested Gamal Abdel Hamid Ziada, Ahmed's father, near his workplace in Giza. Plainclothes officers detained him without presenting an arrest warrant. They confiscated his mobile phone and took him to an unknown location. During interrogation, he was blindfolded and handcuffed. Officers questioned him repeatedly about his son's journalism. One interrogator referred to Ahmed as "the fleeing journalist" and accused him of inciting dissent against the state.

Gamal Abdel Hamid Ziada is a small-business owner who operates a clothing manufacturing workshop. He uses social media exclusively to promote his business. He has no history of involvement in human rights work, political activism, or prior arrest. His detention appears to have been carried out solely because of his family relationship to Ahmed.

Charges and Detention Conditions

Gamal Abdel Hamid Ziada was brought before the Supreme State Security Prosecution and charged with three offenses: misuse of social media, spreading false news, and belonging to a banned group. He was ordered held for fifteen days pending investigation. His family was denied permission to visit him, despite his documented medical conditions and the family's concerns for his health.

The charges against Gamal mirror the language routinely used by Egyptian prosecutors to detain journalists, activists, and human rights defenders. In this case, they have been applied to a man with no public profile, no history of political activity, and no connection to journalism beyond his son.

Transnational Repression and Family Targeting

The arrest of Gamal Abdel Hamid Ziada follows a well-documented pattern of Egyptian authorities targeting the relatives of exiled dissidents, journalists, and human rights defenders. By detaining family members inside Egypt, the state seeks to pressure or silence critics living abroad. Relatives have been subjected to arrest, interrogation, prosecution, travel bans, and asset freezes as proxies for individuals beyond the reach of Egyptian security forces.

Ahmed Gamal Ziada's case is emblematic of this transnational repression strategy. His father's arrest occurred shortly after Ahmed published articles critical of the government in the lead-up to the December 2023 presidential election. The interrogation focused not on Gamal's own conduct, but entirely on his son's work. The detention serves as both punishment and warning.

International Context

Ahmed Gamal Ziada currently resides in Belgium, where he continues his journalism and his studies. His father was released in September 2023, but the case against him, on charges widely understood to be politically motivated, remained open as of September 2023. The case illustrates the extraterritorial reach of Egyptian state repression and the use of family members as instruments of coercion against exiled defenders.