On 6 April 2005, el-Akkad was arrested by the State Security Intelligence (SSI) on suspicion of blasphemy against Islam. He was accused of “insulting a heavenly religion,” a misdemeanor under Article 98-F of the Egyptian penal code. Although his release by a court in Cairo on 30 July 2006 was issued, the SSI deliberately ignored this decision and transferred el-Akkad to the maximum security Wadi el-Natroun Prison, where the majority of Egyptian Islamists sentenced for anti-government activities are incarcerated.