Unjustly accused of misinformation & terrorist activity, cartoonists’ and free expression organisations call for the release of Ashraf Omar.
Update: July 31st 2024
In the early hours of July 22nd, cartoonist and activist Ashraf Omar was taken from his Cairo home by plainclothes security forces. According to Al-Manassa, the independent news outlet that publishes Omar’s cartoons, local authorities denied any involvement in Omar’s disappearance in response to initial enquires by his lawyer and family members. Omar was forcibly disappeared for over 48 hours.
Egyptian authorities have now charged Omar with “joining a terrorist group while being aware of its purposes, disseminating and publishing rumours and false news and information, and abuse of social media.” Through his attorney, Omar denies these false allegations.
According to statements issued by Al-Manassa editorial staff, no evidence was presented during a “six-hour interrogation” by Supreme State Security Prosecution – during which no lawyer was present. Rather, Omar was asked “whether his cartoons were intended to incite the public.” Omar can be held in pre-trial detention until August 5th, though this can be extended at any time.
Cartoonists Rights, Cartooning for Peace, and Artists at Risk Connection (ARC) understand that this incident has had a chilling effect, leaving other cartoonists in Egypt worried for their own safety and unable to freely express their solidarity with Omar and their outrage over the arrest and detention of their colleague.
Egypt’s Journalists Syndicate declared July 29th a day of solidarity with Ashraf Omar.
We reject the charges levelled against Ashraf Omar, a conscientious cartoonist who is being targeted due to his exercise ofhis right to freedom of expression as a critic of the government in Egypt and call for his immediate release, and further declare our concern for and solidarity with all those affected by this incident.
As reported by Middle East Eye and in other Arab-language news, the cartoonist for Egyptian outlet Al-Manassa – Ashraf Omar – was taken from his home in a dawn raid by plain clothes personnel on Monday, July 22nd.
Yesterday, cartoonist Ashraf Omar’s wife Nada Mougheeth raised the alert with the Al-Manassa outlet that had began publishing his cartoons in recent weeks. While his current place of detention remains unknown, his employer has contacted the Journalists Syndicate to “learn his whereabouts, ensure his safety, represent him legally and prevent the authorities from oppressing journalists and acting outside the framework of the law”. Al-Manassa reports that lawyer Mahienour El-Massry went to the police department to make inquiries but that the latter denied the presence or detention of the cartoonist.
Both Cartoonists Rights and Cartooning for Peace are calling for Ashraf Omar’s safety to be guaranteed, and we join Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in calling for a full clarification of what Ms Mougheeth describes as a kidnapping, justified in the absence of any information from the authorities.
These events occur in a country that is one of the world’s largest prisons for journalists, according to RSF, who have said that “censorship, searches, office closures, arrests, mock trials, forced disappearances and arbitrary detentions are the daily lot of journalists” in Egypt.
