Ashraf Omar shortlisted for Index on Censorship award
Translator and political cartoonist Ashraf Omar, who has been detained since his arrest at his home on July 22, 2024, has been shortlisted in the arts category of the freedom of expression awards presented by Index on Censorship.
The awards celebrate individuals “who have had a significant impact fighting censorship anywhere in the world.” The Arts Award “celebrates artists and arts producers whose work challenges repression and injustice and defends artistic freedom.”
The freedom of expression organization said that Omar was arrested in 2024 for his work criticizing the state and remains in prison.
Omar faces charges of “publishing and disseminating false news, misusing social media, and joining a group established in violation of the law.”
The Supreme State Security Prosecution brought the charges two days after he was taken from his home handcuffed and blindfolded. He has remained in pretrial detention ever since.
Index on Censorship said Omar worked as a translator for several Egyptian newspapers and publications, including Mada Masr and Al Maraya magazine. He also contributed as a freelance cartoonist to independent Egyptian media outlets, including Al-Hodhod.net and Al Manassa, and translated and published numerous books on Marxism and political thought.
The Freedom of Expression Awards have four categories: arts, campaigning, journalism and the Trustee Award. Winners will be honored at an official ceremony in London scheduled for Nov. 19. Previous Egyptian recipients include political activist Abdel Rahman Tarek, known as Moka, in 2021; the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms in 2017; and journalist Ibrahim Eissa in 2011.
Omar’s arrest and detention prompted widespread condemnation from organizations concerned with press freedom. Earlier, over 800 writers, intellectuals, and artists called for his release in a solidarity statement, saying that “arresting a young intellectual who chose to pursue his passion and constitutional right to express himself through translation and cartooning, and who made important contributions in both fields, is a dangerous indicator of the decline of cultural and creative freedom.”
On July 22, 2025, marking the first anniversary of Omar’s detention, 23 press and human rights organizations called for his release. In a joint statement, the organizations, including Index on Censorship, called the anniversary “a sad day” for freedom of expression and urged authorities to end his detention immediately and swiftly conclude what they described as baseless legal proceedings.
On Sept. 9, 2024, 34 Egyptian and international human rights and press freedom organizations, including ARTICLE19, condemned the detention of journalists and called for their release. The statement also called for investigations into reports of torture and abuse.
On Aug. 7, 2024, 11 human rights organizations denounced the targeting of journalists through security and judicial measures, as well as enforced disappearances, solely for carrying out their journalistic work.
Reporters Without Borders also condemned the arrest of the cartoonist. Its Middle East bureau chief, Jonathan Dagher, said, “It is not uncommon in Egypt for journalists to disappear before reappearing in a courtroom a few days later as prisoners.”
He added that such practices have no place in a country governed by the rule of law and stressed that “these practices that terrorize journalists must stop.”
The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists called on the Egyptian authorities to release Omar immediately, while Amnesty International condemned his detention, saying it signaled an escalation in the Egyptian authorities’ “repressive campaign against the right to freedom of expression and independent media.”