The latest court decision came days after the release of another Al Jazeera journalist.

Egyptian authorities renewed the imprisonment of Al Jazeera Mubasher journalists ​​Rabie El-Sheikh and Bahauddin Ibrahim on Thursday for an additional 45 days.

In April, authorities in Cairo renewed the two detention period for the same number of days, as part of a periodic renewal of 15-to-45 days, a widely known tactic often used by the Egyptian regime.

El-Sheikh has been behind bars for some 20 months following his initial arrest in 2021 when he travelled to Cairo for a family visit. Ibrahim was arrested in Alexandria in 2020.

In a previous statement, Al Jazeera revealed that Ibrahim has been subjected to “enforced disappearance, torture, and solitary confinement, while being blindfolded and handcuffed.”

The journalists were accused of “joining a banned group” and “spreading false information”, accusations often used by the regime in Cairo to crack down on journalists and political dissidents.

The latest decision came just weeks after Egyptian authorities freed Al Jazeera Mubasher journalist Hisham Abdelaziz, who was arrested and subjected to forced disappearance in 2019.

In May last year, an Egyptian court sentenced Doha-based Al Jazeera presenter Ahmed Taha to 15 years in prison in absentia.

Egypt’s extension comes despite rapprochement between Doha and Cairo following the 2017 dispute.

At the time, Egypt joined Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain in severing ties with Qatar and imposed an illegal air, land and sea blockade on the Gulf state.

Al Jazeera has been subjected to various violations since the 2013 military coup that saw current Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi seize power from then-leader Mohamed Morsi—Egypt’s first democratically elected leader.

The Qatar-based network has repeatedly called on Egyptian authorities to release its journalists as rights groups and Washington echo concerns over prolonged detainments without trial.

According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Egypt is one of the world’s worst jailers of journalists, with many spending years in jail and solitary confinement without being formally charged or tried.

In March, the United States expressed its concern over the extended detainment of the Al Jazeera journalists in its latest country rights report on Egypt.