The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights has condemned the ongoing imprisonment of Al Manassa cartoonist Ashraf Omar. It renewed its call on Public Prosecutor Mohamed Shawky to order Omar’s immediate release and to drop the fabricated charges against him and other journalists jailed for doing their jobs or exercising their constitutional right to free speech.
On Tuesday, the Badr Criminal Court’s circuit chamber extended Omar’s pretrial detention by another 45 days in Case No. 1968 of 2024, filed under State Security jurisdiction. Omar has now been held for over 15 months on charges of “spreading false news,” “misusing social media,” and “joining a group established in violation of the law.”
As previously explained to Al Manassa by rights' lawyer Khaled Ali, consultation panels possess the legal authority to renew a defendant's detention for up to 45 days per decision. However, the overall detention period cannot exceed 18 months from the time of arrest.
In a Thursday statement, EIPR noted that the court’s extension followed a Sept. 22 United Nations warning, where multiple UN human rights experts expressed deep concern over Omar’s continued detention. They criticized the Egyptian government’s systematic abuse of anti-terrorism laws to muzzle artists, journalists, and dissidents.
Among the experts expressing concern in the statement are Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, Aua Baldé and Vice-Chair on communications of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Ganna Yudkivska.
According to the UN press release, Omar was interrogated over his satirical cartoons that challenge Egyptian authorities, but no evidence was ever presented to him or his legal team.
The UN experts described Omar’s detention as “arbitrary and unlawful,” accusing Egypt of violating international law by denying him freedom of expression, artistic rights, and the right to a fair trial.
“The case of Ashraf Omar illustrates a deeply worrying practice in Egypt of criminalizing political expression, including in the form of art, under the guise of national security and counter-terrorism,” the UN statement said, urging Cairo to release Omar immediately and ensure his right to due process.
“Egypt must bring its counter-terrorism legislation in full compliance with international standards and stop using pre-trial detention as a tool of repression,” it added.
EIPR's statement also pushed back against the Egyptian government’s claims, submitted to the UN last year, that Omar’s detention was lawfully reviewed by a judge after reviewing case files and submissions from the prosecution and defense.
As part of Omar’s legal team, EIPR said these claims are entirely false. Omar was not presented at any detention renewal hearings between Aug. 25 and Nov. 3.
Last Tuesday, Omar was again absent from court, only appearing via video link after sustained pressure from his lawyers—the first time they had seen him since August.
His detention was renewed for over 70 consecutive days without any in-person or remote appearance, in direct violation of Egyptian law, which requires detainees to attend renewal hearings.
EIPR stressed that instead of renewing his detention, the terrorism circuit court should have investigated why Omar had not been presented and ordered his immediate release.
On July 22, 2024, plainclothes security forces raided Omar’s home, arrested him, and blindfolded and handcuffed him before taking him to a secret location.
He was forcibly disappeared for two days, reappearing only at the Supreme State Security Prosecution, which ordered his 15-day detention following a six-hour interrogation. He remains behind bars to this day.
