Egyptian journalist Mahmoud Hussein of Al Jazeera has spent 600 days in prison in Egypt with no official charges or conviction, surpassing the permitted maximum length of pretrial detention under Egypt’s constitution.

Since he was arrested at his home in December 2016 while on vacation with his family, Egyptian authorities have continuously extended the detention of the Qatar-based journalist, issuing one remand order after the other to keep him in custody.

OPINION: Why does Israel believe the world would be better without Al Jazeera?

Human rights groups, as well as organisations concerned with press freedoms and journalists’ safety, have repeatedly denounced the pretrial detention of numerous journalists in Egypt.

In a statement released on Sunday,reiterating its condemnation of Hussein’s detention and demanded his immediate release.

The media group called on rights organisations to intensify their pressure on Egyptian authorities and to take part in the online campaign #FreeMahmoudHussein in both English and Arabic.

Egypt has repeatedly targeted Al Jazeera journalists since the military coup which ousted the country’s first democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi in 2013. Its reporters have been banned and access to its sites was blocked in 2017.