Update, 12 November 2026: Hamdi al-Zaeem remains in pretrial detention almost six years after his second arrest, while his trial in Case No. 955 of 2020 continues before the Second Terrorism Circuit of the Cairo Criminal Court. His session of 27 September 2026 was adjourned to 11 October 2026; trusted sources have not yet reported the outcome of that session.

Background and Work

Hamdi Mokhtar Ali, widely known as Hamdi al-Zaeem, is an Egyptian freelance photojournalist and producer whose work has appeared in local independent outlets, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). He is the father of four children and, according to the rights groups that have campaigned for him, the main provider for his family. His case is one of a number of prosecutions of Egyptian media workers that press freedom groups cite as examples of the use of pretrial detention against journalists.

The Arrests

Hamdi al-Zaeem was first arrested on 26 September 2016. CPJ reports that state security officers detained him while he was filming a documentary for the Al-Hayah channel about students cheating in final school examinations; the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) and the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF) place the arrest outside the Journalists Syndicate in Cairo. He was held in pretrial detention in Case No. 15060 of 2016 (Qasr El-Nil misdemeanours) and charged with spreading false news, belonging to a terrorist group, harming national unity and inciting a protest without a permit. In June 2018 he was released under precautionary measures that required him to report regularly to a police station. CPJ dates the release to 23 June 2018; ECRF gives 13 June 2018.

On 4 January 2021 he was arrested again. CPJ describes a raid on his Cairo home; EIPR says he was detained after leaving a police station where he had been complying with his precautionary measures. He was held for 12 days without contact with his family or lawyer before appearing before the Supreme State Security Prosecution on 16 January 2021. His family believes the new case is linked to the first one, according to CPJ.

Detention Conditions and Health

He was held at Tora Prison in Cairo until 27 December 2021, when he was transferred to Abu Zaabal Prison in al-Qalyubia governorate, according to CPJ. He has diabetes, high blood pressure and a herniated disc. A 2024 statement by Egyptian rights groups and public figures said his health had deteriorated in detention, and the joint statement of 26 September 2026 again raised his health and the burden on his family. His daughter, Mirna al-Zaeem, told ECRF that he had suffered a clot in prison that affected his leg and that his eyesight is weak.

Legal Proceedings

In the second case, prosecutors charged him with offences including joining a terrorist group and taking part in a criminal agreement to commit a terrorist offence; CPJ also lists spreading false news and misusing social media. His detention was renewed repeatedly for about four years, well beyond the two-year maximum for pretrial detention under Egyptian law. In January 2025 he was referred to trial with other defendants in Case No. 955 of 2020, registered as Case No. 29 of 2025 Fifth Settlement felonies, before the Second Terrorism Circuit of the Cairo Criminal Court. The Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE) reports that the referral order is dated 1 January 2025, that the first session was held on 26 October 2025 and that the defendants denied the charges; AFTE follows his case together with that of a co-defendant, Alaa Mansour.

The trial has since been adjourned several times. On 25 March 2026 it was adjourned to 21 June 2026; AFTE reported that defendants could not be brought from prison and that the defence objected to the court limiting its questioning of a prosecution witness. On 21 June 2026 the fourth session was adjourned to 27 September 2026 to hear the prosecution's pleading. On 27 September 2026 the court, sitting at the Badr complex, rose before the case was called because some defendants had not been brought to court. His lawyer, Nabih El-Gendy, told Al Manassa that the defence had not yet been told the next date and that terrorism circuits now often adjourn for three or four months. ECRF and AFTE reported that the case was adjourned to 11 October 2026. AFTE further reports that the 11 October session was adjourned to 13 December, citing the continuation of the prosecution's pleading and the failure to bring some defendants; this has not been confirmed by a second source.

In late September 2026 he was reported to have said that he would stop attending his sessions from 1 October 2026, citing the new Code of Criminal Procedure. Days before that date, parliament postponed the code's entry into force by one year, according to EIPR.

International Response

On 26 September 2026, marking ten years since his first arrest, 16 organisations including CPJ, EIPR, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, the El Nadeem Center, the Egyptian Front for Human Rights and ECRF issued a joint statement calling for his immediate release. They noted that no final conviction has been issued against him and that measures meant to be exceptional had become a long punishment. CPJ has profiled him among imprisoned journalists in Egypt, which it describes as one of the world's leading jailers of journalists.