The New Cairo Supreme State Security Prosecution has referred Al Manassa cartoonist Ashraf Omar early Saturday to criminal court after more than 16 months in pretrial detention. He faces charges of “joining a terrorist group to further its goals,” according to his wife, Nada Mougheeth.
Omar was transported alone in a prison van, for around 70 km, from 10th of Ramadan Prison to the prosecution headquarters last Tuesday, without prior notice to him or his legal team, Nada revealed to Al Manassa. He was then asked to sign his referral order without being allowed to read the charges or examine the decision, she added.
His defense team has not yet been granted access to further details of the case. In a Facebook post, lawyer Khaled Ali confirmed Mougheeth’s account and said he would release more information once the case files were reviewed.
Nada described that her husband appeared “strong and resilient” in prison and expressed hope that he would receive a fair trial, “especially as he has committed no crime.”
Omar was arrested on July 22, 2024, when plainclothes officers stormed his home and forcibly disappeared him, blindfolded and handcuffed, to an undisclosed location. He reappeared two days later, on 24 July, at the Supreme State Security Prosecution.
During a six-hour interrogation, prosecutors questioned Omar about published cartoons on Al Manassa and unpublished sketches found in his possession. He was accused of “spreading false news,” “misusing social media,” and “joining an illegal group.”
Several of Omar’s cartoons had tackled Egypt’s worsening power outages and mounting debt crisis.
His arrest and prolonged detention, without timely judicial review, sparked outcry from local and international press freedom and human rights organizations, which have repeatedly demanded his release along with other detainees imprisoned for their professional work or peaceful expression.
