Egyptian blogger Mohamed Ibrahim, known as Mohamed Oxygen after the title of his blog, attempted suicide in his cell in Tora 2 Prison before being saved at the last moment.

The Arab Network for Human Rights Information condemned the abuse of Oxygen, who has been denied visits and essential items since February 2020, which motivated him to commit suicide.

“What our client, the prisoner of conscience, is subjected to is odd for justice and unprecedented,” said ANHRI. “The Supreme State Security Prosecution refuses our demands to let us visit Oxygen to check on his physical and mental health.”

Oxygen was detained for the first time in April 2018 on charges of publishing false news, before getting parole in July 2019. Although he complied with the release conditions, he was detained again in October 2019, after the September 2019 protests, while he was spending time in a police station according to the release conditions. Despite the fact that a release order for him was issued in November 2020, the Supreme State Security Prosecution inserted him onto a new case with the same charges of publishing false news and belonging to a terrorist group, to renew his detention.

The incident was part of the Egyptian regime’s propaganda to circumvent pressure by the international community to improve the human rights situation in the country.