The Defense and Solidarity Committee for Director Omar Salah Marei has called for his immediate release as the Supreme State Security Prosecution is set to consider extending his pretrial detention for the fifth time on July 6, 2026, on charges of “spreading false news” in Case No. 3835 of 2026.
Formed in the wake of Marei’s arrest, a committee of artists, writers, journalists, lawyers and rights defenders backing his case issued an open statement on 4 July. It called on artists, filmmakers, academics, professional syndicates, political parties and rights groups in Egypt and abroad to sign on and “demand his immediate release and reject his continued pretrial detention over the peaceful expression of his opinion.”
The statement open for signature argued that Marei’s continued detention raises legal and human rights concerns, pointing to the expanded use of pretrial detention in cases tied to freedom of expression, the reliance on legal provisions to prosecute peaceful speech, and whether such practices align with constitutional guarantees of free opinion.
The statement added that the case “does not concern Omar Marei alone, but also concerns the right of artists, writers, and filmmakers to express their views without fear of prosecution or imprisonment,” adding that “it is impossible to speak of supporting Egyptian culture or soft power while artists and creators face the threat of prosecution because of their opinions or creative work.”
The signatories also expressed concern over Marei’s health, noting that he needs regular medical follow-up and must complete the necessary treatment. They demanded that he be guaranteed full medical care without delay.
Last week, rights lawyer Khaled Ali said the administration of the 10th of Ramadan Prison had allowed Marei to undergo an X-ray on his arm “because it had been broken before his arrest… and the prison administration promised him it would complete all the medical procedures he requested.”
The committee’s statement was signed by the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF), the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), El-Nadeem Center, the Egyptian Front for Human Rights, the Egyptian Human Rights Forum, the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE), the Law and Democracy Support Foundation, the Sinai Foundation for Human Rights, and Tebyan for Rights and Freedoms.
The statement was also signed by the Conservative Party, the Bread and Freedom Party, the Popular Socialist Alliance Party, and the Revolutionary Socialists, as well as many public figures and rights defenders.
On June 22, the Supreme State Security Prosecution renewed Marei’s detention for 15 days pending investigation, his lawyer Nabeh Elganadi told Al Manassa at the time. Elganadi said the renewal session was held via video conference and that the defense requested that Marei be examined by doctors and that an X-ray be conducted on his left hand after it became swollen.
Following his arrest on May 11, rights organizations warned that his health was deteriorating, saying he has a thyroid disorder that requires daily medication, in addition to complications from recent wrist surgery. They called for him to be granted access to the necessary treatment and medical care.
According to rights organization ARTICLE 19, Omar Salah’s case comes amid a wider crackdown on freedom of expression and mounting restrictions on creative work, including the systematic targeting of artists and creators through broad, formulaic charges that authorities have used for over a decade to prosecute opinion writers, journalists, artists, and creators, and to imprison them for years through prolonged pretrial detention or trials that lack the guarantees and standards of fair and equitable proceedings.
In a statement issued in late May, the organization said the current period has seen security and judicial prosecutions targeting several artists and creators, including Al Manassa cartoonist Ashraf Omar, who is due to appear before a new session of a terrorism circuit on July 13, 2026, on charges related to “financing terrorism,” and activist and poet Ahmed Douma, who was sentenced on June 3 to one year in prison with hard labor on charges of “spreading false news,” as well as other activists and dozens of journalists.
