Eleven international human rights organizations have called on the Egyptian authorities to immediately release retired journalist Tawfiq Ghanem (66 years).

This came in a joint statement issued by the organizations, the day before yesterday, Thursday, including Amnesty International, against the background of the 150 days of his detention in pretrial detention.

It was not possible to obtain an immediate comment from the Egyptian authorities about the statement, but they usually affirm the independence of the judiciary, its commitment to the law and human rights principles, and not to arrest anyone based on a political background.

The statement called for Ghanem's immediate release and immediate access to medical care pending his release.

Human rights organizations expressed grave concern about Ghanem's denial of access to appropriate health care in prison or outside for diagnosis and treatment.

The statement stated: According to Ghanem's family, the prison authorities failed to transfer him to an external hospital, although the prison doctor recommended, 50 days ago, that he be transferred to Qasr Al-Aini Hospital (Cairo) for tests on suspicion of a kidney tumor.

The organizations indicated that Ghanem also suffers from an enlarged prostate, diabetes, and health problems in the bones and nerves.

The statement was signed by International Justice Organizations, Civil Rights Defenders (based in Stockholm), Democracy in the Arab World Now (based in Washington), the Committee to Protect Journalists (based in New York) and MENA Human Rights Group (based in Geneva).

The list of signatories also included the Czech organizations of the Egyptian Front for Human Rights, the Freedom Initiative (based in Washington), the International Service for Human Rights (based in Geneva), between America (based in New York), the Project for Democracy in the Middle East (based in Washington), and the Sinai Foundation for Human Rights (based London).

According to the statement, Ghanem's pretrial detention was renewed for 45 days on October 11.

On May 21, the security authorities arrested retired journalist Tawfiq Ghanem after raiding his home in 6th of October City (west of Cairo).

The State Security Prosecution ruled that he be held in pretrial detention on charges of belonging to a terrorist group, and since then his detention has been renewed, according to a previous statement by Reporters Without Borders.

Ghanem has been retired from journalistic work since 2015, and he suffers from diabetes and other diseases due to his advanced age, and needs medication on a daily basis, according to a previous statement by his family.

According to his family's statement, Ghanem held many journalistic positions over more than 30 years, most notably the presidency of the Media International Foundation, which ran the Islam Online website, in addition to the position of director of the regional office of Anadolu Agency until 2015.