He has been on hunger strike since 23 August in protest at his conviction in March for violating article 184 of the Egyptian penal code, which criminalises any criticism of the military.
Maikel had published an article exposing the role of the military during and after the revolution, for which he was sentenced to three years in prison in a trial in front of a military court and without a lawyer. His appeal was scheduled for 4 October, but then adjourned because a file was missing.
On 11 October, the military appeal court declared the original sentence “null and void” and set a date of 1 November for a retrial, but refused to release him. By the date of his retrial, Maikel will have been on hunger strike for 70 days. “They’re taking him to the hospital and will most likely just declare him insane,” said Maged Hanna, one of the two lawyers on Maikel’s self-appointed defence team.