Aida Seif al-Dawla released on bail after questioning over report on torture in state facilities

Aida Seif al-Dawla, co-founder of Al-Nadeem Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence, was ordered released on Sunday after the State Security Prosecution investigated her on charges of  “broadcasting false news with the aim of disturbing public security and peace,” according to lawyer Haytham Mohamadeen, who spoke to Mada Masr.

The prosecution set bail at LE100,000. 

A group of human rights organizations described Seif al-Dawla’s summons as part of an “escalation” against people working in human rights, politics and journalism, and said the repeated judicial summons are a “systematic” practice.

Mohamadeen said that Seif al-Dawla was questioned for three hours, fielding several questions about the publication of Al-Nadeem Center’s report on “harassment and torture in places of detention” earlier this month. 

She was also asked questions about other publications the center has released about victims of torture.

Al-Nadeem published report compiling 188 cases documenting media reports and appeals from detention centers on the subject of torture and harassment, particularly in Sector 2 of Badr 3 Prison, which it described as a “black hole.” The report also described judicial authorities, which should be “a refuge for citizens when the state is imposing on them,” as occasionally “disturbing” citizens.

Seif al-Dawla announced Wednesday that the State Security Prosecution had summoned her for questioning in Case 09/2026. She was not notified of the charges. 

The human rights organizations pointed to a series of similar summons issued over recent weeks, including the arrest and investigation of political activist Ahmed Douma, as well as the summons in 2025 of Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights Executive Director Hossam Bahgat, Mada Masr Editor-in-Chief Lina Attalah, lawyer and political activist Mahienour al-Massry and writer and politician Ammar Ali Hassan. 

They also pointed to the bail fees stipulated in the above cases, describing them as “a new form of indirect punishment and financial depletion.”

“Bail is originally an exceptional legal procedure aimed at ensuring the accused’s attendance at investigation or trial sessions,” the statement read, “and is not supposed to be a means of punishment or deterrence.”

The statement explained that the summons indicated usually relate to “vague charges” accusing human rights defenders and political activists of “spreading false news, joining a terrorist group and misusing social media,” before bail is set at sums ranging from LE100,000 to LE120,000.