Yehya Khalafallah, 58, is a union journalist and founder of Yaqeen News Network (established in March 2011 by a group of independent journalists). He holds a Bachelor of Commerce.
A police force arrested Khalafallah from his home in Nahya neighborhood in Giza on 23 December 2019. The police seized devices belonging to Yaqeen Network that were kept in a store. These included 13 cameras of different types and brands, a number of lenses of different types and sizes, 16 camera batteries, a mic holder, two camera holders, a card printing machine, 13 stampers bearing the name of Yaqeen Network, and a number of USB flash drives.
Khalafallah disappeared in the period from 23 December 2019 to 6 February 2020. His family took measures to prove his disappearance by sending a number of reports to the Public Prosecutor. During that period, Khalafallah was illegally detained at the National Security headquarters in Sheikh Zayed and the Boulaq El-Dakrour police station. He appeared before the Boulaq El-Dakrour prosecution on 6 February 2020, in connection with Case No. 1306 of 2020 (Administrative Boulaq El-Dakrour). He was charged with joining a group established in violation of the law, promoting the ideas and purposes of that group, spreading false news, and possessing communication and recording devices with the aim of committing crimes of promotion and dissemination of false news.
The Public Prosecution decided that the exhibits sent by the National Security Sector be examined by the Technical Assistance Section of the Cybercrime Combating Department of the Ministry of Interior.
Since his arrest, Khalafallah has been moved to more than one place of detention. In the beginning, he was held at the National Security headquarters from 23 December 2019 to 7 February 2020, then moved to the “Kilo 10 and a half” Prison, where he remained until 18 October 2021, then to the Giza Central Prison.
Khalafallah had previously been charged in Case No. 1155 of 2014 (Qasr Al-Nil misdemeanor) and Case No. 8611 of 2015 (Qasr Al-Nil misdemeanor) on the same charges, but he was released when the two cases were dropped.
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