Galal El-Behairy is an Egyptian poet, lyricist, and activist who has been imprisoned since his arrest at Cairo International Airport in March 2018 while attempting to travel abroad. Before his arrest, El-Behairy had collaborated with musician Ramy Essam on the protest song “Balaha,” for which he wrote the lyrics. Just five days after the song’s release, he was detained and forcibly disappeared for a week. When he reappeared before the High State Security Prosecution, he showed signs of torture. Authorities charged him with “joining a terrorist group,” “spreading false news,” and “insulting the President”—charges that were later dropped. However, he remained in custody due to a separate military case related to his poetry. On July 31, 2018, a military court sentenced El-Behairy to three years in prison and fined him 10,000 Egyptian Pounds for “spreading false news and rumors” and “insulting the Egyptian army” in his book of poetry, The Finest Women on Earth. The fine was later overturned on appeal. After completing his sentence in July 2021, El-Behairy was subjected to enforced disappearance for three weeks before being brought again before the Supreme State Security Prosecution. He now faces renewed charges of “spreading false news” and “joining a terrorist group.” His re-arrest reflects a broader pattern of “rotation,” a tactic used by Egyptian authorities to circumvent legal limits on pretrial detention and prolong the imprisonment of political dissidents.
PEN America Advocacy
July 20, 2024: PEN America calls for the release of El-Behairy in a joint submission on Egypt’s human rights record for the 48th Universal Periodic Review session.
September 18, 2023: PEN America issues a statement in response to the alarming news that Galal El-Behairy attempted suicide, renewing our call for his release and holding the Egyptian authorities responsible for his health and safety.
May 31, 2023: Upon the escalation of Galal El-Behairy’s hunger strike, PEN America joins PEN International and other PEN Centers in calling on the Egyptian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release him.
June 1, 2020: Upon the release of Mustafa Gamal, PEN America calls for the additional release of Galal El-Behairy in a press statement, as the two were both detained for involvement in the production of Ramy Essam’s song “Balaha.”
May 22, 2020: PEN America, along with dozens of other NGOs and advocacy organizations, writes an open letter to the Egyptian Ministry of Justice, calling for an open investigation into the death of Shady Habash, a 24-year-old filmmaker who died in government custody. In the letter, they also call for the release of Galal El-Behairy and Mustafa Gamal, who were detained along with Habash for involvement in the production of Ramy Essam’s song “Balaha.”
Case Background
El-Behairy is the author of the books Chairs Factory (Masna’a El Karasy), published in 2015, and Colorful Prison (Segn Bel Alwan), published in 2017. He has written many lyrics for the singer Ramy Essam, among them one of his biggest hits, “Segn Bel Alwan.”
El-Behairy released his latest book of poetry, The Finest Women on Earth (خير نسوان الأرض), in 2018. In his words, the book is a testament to “the value of women and of their good deeds in this world.” He focused on the strength and perseverance of women in Egypt, who he feels face unique pressures while ultimately being responsible for the success of the men who make up the majority of the country’s workforce. In an addendum on the back cover of the book, he admonished the current public attitude in Egypt regarding terrorism and conflict plaguing the Arab world. He condemned the silence surrounding events of recent decades as counter to the valor, honor, and respect he was taught from a young age. In a statement defending this book of poetry, El-Behairy wrote, “Each one of us loves their country and each one of us fears for their country. However, each one of us has a personal vision that does not contradict the country’s interest.”
On February 26, 2018, a month prior to Egypt’s presidential election, exiled Egyptian musician and activist Ramy Essam released the song “Balaha.” The song featured lyrics written by El-Behairy that criticized the current state of the Egyptian economy and levels of political corruption. Essam was nicknamed the “Singer of Tahrir Square” and the “Singer of the Revolution” for his influential role during the Arab Spring, but has since been forced into exile.
While in prison, El-Behairy hasn’t stopped writing. He recently wrote a poem entitled A Letter from Tora Prison that a number of PEN centers—including Danish PEN, English PEN, Finnish PEN, French PEN, German PEN, Norwegian PEN, PEN America, and Swedish PEN—published to draw attention to the case.In advance of the delayed verdict, the Perpetuum Mobile’s Artists at Risk (AR) program began an online petition to the Egyptian Minister of Justice, Minister of the Interior, Public Prosecutor, and Military Public Prosecutor calling for the release of El-Behairy. In addition, a coalition of PEN centers, PEN America’s Artists at Risk Connection (ARC), SafeMuse, Freemuse, and Perpetuum Mobile’s Artists at Risk (AR) program published an open letter calling for all charges against El-Behairy to be dropped in both the Military Court and the High State Security Court.
Case Updates
November 17, 2024: El-Behairy and his family were subjected to invasive body searches during a visit to him at Badr prison. When he protested, a prison officer threatened him with torture. The officer reportedly threatened to take him to a “torture room” in Badr 3 prison that lacks camera surveillance and said he would “do whatever he wants” with him. El-Behairy is suffering from a tumor in his mouth, which makes swallowing painful, and he urgently needs medical treatment. Despite urgent need, authorities have repeatedly denied his requests for medical treatment.
September 9, 2023: Galal attempted suicide four days after resuming a hunger strike to protest his prolonged arbitrary detention and express his despair at being denied the chance to attend his younger sister’s wedding.
May 25, 2023: Galal’s health is deteriorating after 80 days on hunger strike.
February 2023: PEN International has obtained a copy of a moving message from El-Behairy in which he declared that he would begin a hunger strike on 5 March and that he will gradually escalate his strike, including refraining from taking heart medication and antidepressants. In his message, he questioned the reason behind his ongoing ordeal and why he is losing his life behind bars despite having done nothing wrong.
June 27, 2021: El-Behairy writes a new poem to reflect upon his fourth birthday behind bars.
November 27, 2020: Egyptian artist and musician Ramy Essam releases a new song to mark 1,000 days since the imprisonment of poet and lyricist Galal El-Behairy. The song is named El Amiis El Karoo (The Flannel Shirt), the lyrics being the verses of El-Behairy’s poem, which he wrote in the Tora prison in 2018.
April 25, 2019: A Civilian Court conditionally releases El-Behairy from a case related to his art; however, he is still imprisoned, serving the three-year-sentence given to him by a military court because of his book of poetry, The Finest Women on Earth.
January 24, 2019: El-Behairy, along with four other political prisoners, undertake a hunger strike from January 24 until February 11 to commemorate the 2011 Egyptian revolution and protest the injustice that remains in their country.
July 31, 2018: The Egyptian Military Court in Cairo sentences El-Behairy to three years in prison and fines him 10 000 Egyptian Pounds (~US$200) for his poetry. He is officially sentenced for insulting the military and spreading false news. El-Behairy had already served 150 days in detention waiting for his sentencing.
July 26, 2018: UN Rapporteurs release a statement in support of El-Behairy. “We urge the relevant authorities to investigate the alleged ill-treatment of Mr. El Behairy, and to acquit him of all charges related to the creative expression of his political views,” the statement says.
June 27, 2018: The Egyptian Military Court delays El-Behairy’s sentence announcement a third time. The verdict is now expected on July 28, a month after the already postponed date. Without any limits to how many times the court can delay a sentencing, postponing a verdict is frequently used as a means of keeping a person imprisoned indefinitely.
May 6, 2018: El-Behairy attends his first trial in the Military Court. He was informed that his verdict would be delivered three days following on May 9. The Court later delayed the verdict until May 16, and now the Military Court’s decision is expected on June 27, 2018.
March 3, 2018: El-Behairy is arrested. His family and lawyers did not know his whereabouts until he appeared before the High State Security Prosecution one week later, at which point he exhibited signs of severe beating and torture. The Prosecution ordered him to undergo a forensic medical examination, but the findings of the examination have not been shared with the public or his lawyer. El-Behairy was told that he was facing charges from the Military Court involving both the content of his book of poetry and the lyrics of “Balaha” for their criticism of the current government.
February 28, 2018: Two days after the release of “Balaha,” Egyptian Minister of Culture Enas Abdel Dayem publicly denounces El-Behairy on live television, specifically noting the book of poetry, The Finest Women on Earth.
Free Expression in Egypt
In March of 2018, the government imposed additional free speech restrictions prior to the presidential elections. Journalists covering the election were not allowed to speak with people at the polling sites or ask voters how they had voted. The crackdown also affected musicians. Popular Egyptian singer Sherine Abdel-Wahab was recently taken to court because of a joking comment she made in a music video. She suggested that a fan shouldn’t drink the water from the Nile and was subsequently sentenced to six months in prison. In this climate of censorship, “Balaha” drew much attention within Egypt and internationally.
Repression in all its forms is not a new phenomenon in Egypt. During the Arab Spring, the Egyptian army frequently countered artists’ nonviolent activism with violence. Read more about Free Expression in Egypt here.