{"id":41295,"date":"2026-06-18T14:14:59","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T11:14:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/afteegypt.org\/?p=41295"},"modified":"2026-06-18T14:17:49","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T11:17:49","slug":"41295","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/afteegypt.org\/en\/research-en\/2026\/06\/18\/41295-afteegypt.html","title":{"rendered":"New Pathways to Obscuring the Truth: Egyptian Family Values as a Justification for Publication Ban"},"content":{"rendered":"

Research paper by: Mahmoud Abdelzaher<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Contents<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Methodology<\/strong><\/p>\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n

First: Publication Bans Tied to Investigation and Trial Proceedings under Egyptian Law<\/strong><\/p>\n

Second: Egyptian Family Values as a \u201cNew\u201d Justification for Publication Ban Orders<\/strong><\/p>\n

Third: How Do Publication Bans Violate Fundamental Rights?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Conclusion and Recommendations<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Methodology<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

This paper analyzes the legislative provisions regulating publication bans tied to investigation and trial proceedings under the Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure, as well as Article 25 of the Anti-Cyber and Information Technology Crimes Law No. 175 of 2018. It compares the substance of these provisions against the actual practice of the judiciary and the Public Prosecution, taking the publication ban orders issued by the Public Prosecutor on the pretext of \u201cprotecting family values\u201d as a case study. It then compares the Public Prosecution\u2019s approach with other local and Arab examples that have handled such sensitive cases in a manner that safeguards the media\u2019s right to publish and citizens\u2019 right to know, while at the same time protecting the privacy and dignity of victims.<\/p>\n

The paper draws on primary sources, namely the texts of the aforementioned laws and the Public Prosecution\u2019s publication ban orders, in addition to a number of secondary sources, such as legal scholarship and human rights reports and studies relevant to its subject.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In mid-April 2026, the Public Prosecution announced via its official Facebook page that it had issued an arrest warrants for an unspecified number of individuals, on the grounds that they had breached a publication ban issued by the Public Prosecution itself several days prior to the arrest warrant, in connection with ongoing investigations into four cases currently under investigation. The first and second cases concern the rape of two sisters by their uncle; the first is case number 2094 of 2026 Shebin El Kom criminal court, and the second is case number 3743 of 2026 Shebin El Kom Misdemeanours Court. While the third case concerns an incident in which a father and grandfather sexually assaulted a young girl before killing her; that is case No. 3015 of 2026, Al-Shuhada Misdemeanours court. The final case is numbered 3764 of 2026 Administrative court of Sidi Gaber, and concerns the suicide of a woman who threw herself from the balcony of a building in the Sidi Gaber district of Alexandria.<\/p>\n

In a post on its official Facebook page, the Public Prosecution justified the publication ban on these cases, stating that their widespread circulation on social media platforms \u201cdamages the image of Egyptian society, does not reflect the statistical reality of such crimes, and has negative repercussions on the values of the Egyptian family\u201d.[1]<\/sup><\/a> This marks the first time such language has been used as a stated justification for decisions to impose publication bans on cases currently under investigation.<\/p>\n

The paper is based on the principle that judicial proceedings are, by their very nature, public, as stipulated in the Constitution, and that any concealment or withholding of such information requires a legal justification. This paper seeks to discuss publication bans relating to investigative and trial proceedings under Egyptian law, focusing on the justifications put forward by the Public Prosecution for imposing such bans in these cases and their relationship to the justifications set out in the Penal Code. It also discusses the Egyptian Public Prosecution\u2019s tendency to issue an increasing number of publication bans in cases involving serious crimes of violence against women and girls, based on a (new) justification not provided for in the Penal Code, namely the protection of \u2018Egyptian family values\u2019. This paper traces the term \u2018family values\u2019 within Egypt\u2019s legislative framework, from its first appearance in Article 25 of the Cybercrime Law No. 175 of 2018, through to the various courts\u2019 interpretations of this term when hearing cases involving attacks on family values in recent years. The paper also offers a critique of this approach, which stifles public debate on issues of violence against women, and highlights how such arbitrary decisions constitute a violation of citizens\u2019 human and constitutional rights.<\/p>\n

The paper concludes by proposing a framework for regulating publication bans during the investigation and trial phases, whilst emphasising which information can be strictly banned from publication in cases involving crimes of violence against women, in order to protect their personal safety and their right to privacy as victims.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

First: The publication ban related to investigative and trial proceedings under Egyptian law<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Before we discuss the publication ban related to investigation and trial proceedings, it is important to differentiate between two types of publication bans: the first is law-based publication ban, i.e one stipulated in specific laws that impose a comprehensive and absolute ban on the publication of certain data, information or documents. These laws regulate within themselves the procedure for obtaining special permission to override this ban, to consider a specific news item or statement, and the period after which the publication of the documents becomes permitted.<\/p>\n

Various Egyptian legislations contain dozens of applications for such kinds of publication bans, the one that does not require the issuance of a specific decision from any authority to take effect, as it comes into force automatically upon the enactment of the relevant legislation stating it. The most famous example of this kind is the general publication ban on all matters related to the armed forces, so it is not permitted to publish any news, data or documents related to the armed forces without a prior permit from the Military Intelligence Directorate of the Armed Forces.[2]<\/sup><\/a> Moreover, the penal code strictly prohibits the publication of any news concerning the investigations or proceedings in cases of divorce, legal separation or adultery.[3]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Article 186 bis of the Penal Code also prohibits the filming or recording of trial sessions without a permission from the presiding judge. This ban does not pertain to publishing in the general sense, but only the filming or recording inside trial sessions without prior permission from the judge, and the publishing and broadcasting said recordings. As the article states that<\/p>\n

Without prejudice to any more severe penalty, any person who photographs or records words or clips, or broadcasts, publishes, or displays, by any means of publicity, the proceedings of a trial hearing allocated for the hearing of a criminal case without authorization from the president of the competent court after obtaining the opinion of the Public Prosecution, shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred thousand Egyptian pounds and not exceeding three hundred thousand Egyptian pounds. In addition, the court shall order the confiscation of the devices or other items used in, or resulting from, the offence, or the deletion or destruction of their contents, as the case may be. The fine shall be doubled in case of recidivism.[4]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

The Penal Code also bans the publication of<\/p>\n

matters likely to influence the judges entrusted with deciding a case pending before any judicial authority in the country, or to influence members of the judiciary, the Public Prosecution, or other officials entrusted with investigation, or to influence witnesses who may be summoned to testify in such case or investigation, or matters likely to prevent a person from providing information to the competent authorities, or to influence public opinion in favor of or against a party to the case or investigation.[5]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Any breach of this provision is punishable by a fine of not less than one hundred thousand Egyptian pounds and not exceeding three hundred thousand Egyptian pounds. It is also prohibited to publish \u201cin the confidential deliberations of courts, or who dishonestly and maliciously publishes what took place in public court hearings.\u201d[6]<\/sup><\/a> Any person who violates such prohibition shall be punished by imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year and by a fine of not less than five thousand Egyptian pounds and not exceeding ten thousand Egyptian pounds, or by either of these two penalties.<\/p>\n

The second kind is a publication ban related to the investigations and trials, and it is a publication ban issued by the investigation authority (the public prosecution or the investigation judge or the court that is hearing the case). This kind of publication ban can be defined as a \u201cdecision issued by the investigation authority or the court to prohibit the coverage of the incident in question in all media outlets\u201d.[7]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

This definition shows how legal literature dealt with the issue of publication bans, considering it a restriction relating to media outlets and press as the usual publication channels. However, the decision issued by the Public Prosecution and the investigation judges in recent years clearly state the extension of publication bans to include the internet and social media, recognising the fact that the influence, reach and impact of these channels on the public exceed those of traditional media outlets and the press.<\/p>\n

Article 190 of the Penal Code regulates the right of the various courts to impose an exceptional publication ban, stating: \u201ccourts may, having regard to the nature of the facts of the case, prohibit, for the preservation of public order or morals, the publication of all or part of the pleadings or judgments \u2026\u201d. As for the right of the investigating authorities and the Public Prosecution to exercise this type of exceptional power, it is provided for in the Penal Code implicitly rather than explicitly, when it imposed penalties for contravening the decisions of the investigating authority prohibiting the publication of parts of the investigations, or for conducting the investigation in the absence of the parties (the victim(s) and the accused). Article 193 of the Penal Code states:<\/p>\n

Any person who publishes, by any of the aforementioned means, any of the following shall be punished by imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months and by a fine of not less than five thousand Egyptian pounds and not exceeding ten thousand Egyptian pounds, or by either of these two penalties:<\/p>\n