Cartoonist Ashraf Omar was seized from his home by Egyptian police early on 22 July and taken away to an unknown destination, his wife told independent news website Mada Masr. Colleagues at the independent website where he worked, al-Manassa, are calling on the Egyptian Journalists’ Union to demand his immediate release. Nora Younis, al-Manassa’s editor said “the cartoons of our colleague Ashraf Omar did not violate any law nor attack anyone, and therefore Al-Manassa considers it unacceptable that he was taken away blindfolded at dawn.”

In addition to his work for al-Manassa, Omar is also well-known as a translator of journalism and political theory. 

The Egyptian Journalists’ Union Freedoms Committee issued a statement condemning his arrest and the union’s president Khaled El-Balshy has filed a complaint with the Public Prosecutor demanding the release of Omar and 22 other journalists currently detained.

In its statement the Freedoms Committee emphasised “its full solidarity with colleague Ashraf Omar and his right to practice his journalistic work, which relies on drawing cartoons. “Al-Manassa” website announced that the colleague published some drawings about the electricity crisis and the economic crises facing citizens, which the Freedoms Committee considers an inherent right of the journalist who expresses the suffering of citizens through his drawings.”

What you can do: 

• Write to the Egyptian embassy in your country calling for Ashraf Omar’s immediate release and urging an end to the persecution of journalists 

In the UK write to: 

Ambassador Sherif Kamel
Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt
26 South Street, W1K 1DW
Fax: 020 7491 1542
E-mail address: egtamboff@gmail.com  Egyemb2020@gmail.com 

In Egypt write to: 

Minister of Interior
Mahmoud Tawfiq
Ministry of the Interior
25 El Sheikh Rihan Street Bab al-Louk, Cairo, Egypt
Fax: +202 2794 5529
Email: center@iscmi.gov.eg  or E.HumanRightsSector@moi.gov.eg 
Twitter: @moiegy

Egyptian Journalists’ Union Freedoms Committee condemns the arrest of cartoonist Ashraf Omar and demands his immediate release

Monday July 22 2024
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The Journalists’ Freedoms Committee condemns the arrest of the cartoonist Ashraf Omar and demands his release. The committee condemns the return of targeting journalists, with the arrest of two colleagues within a week.

Khaled Elbalshy has filed a report with the Public Prosecutor demanding the cessation of the arrest of journalists and the release of more than 23 journalists.

The Journalists’ Freedoms Committee condemns the arrest of colleague Ashraf Omar, a cartoonist for the “Al-Manassa” website, early this morning. The committee demands disclosure of his detention location, the circumstances of his arrest, and his immediate release.

The Freedoms Committee confirms that the arrest of Ashraf Omar is the second case of targeting and pursuing journalists within a week, after the arrest of colleague Khalid Mamdouh, who had disappeared for several days and was unjustly detained before appearing before the Supreme State Security Prosecution yesterday, Sunday, which ordered his detention for 15 days pending investigations in case number 1282 for the year 2024, exclusive to the Supreme State Security.

According to Ashraf Omar’s wife, a security force in civilian clothes stormed their residence in Dar Misr compound in Hadayek October, arrested him at one-thirty in the morning on Monday, and took him blindfolded to an unknown location.

The committee emphasises its full solidarity with colleague Ashraf Omar and his right to practice his journalistic work, which relies on drawing cartoons. “Al-Manassa” website announced that the colleague published some drawings about the electricity crisis and the economic crises facing citizens, which the Freedoms Committee considers an inherent right of the journalist who expresses the suffering of citizens through his drawings.

The committee confirms that the head of the Journalists Syndicate, Khaled Elbalshy, has filed a report with the Public Prosecutor to reveal the location of the colleague’s detention, the circumstances of his arrest, and to demand his release, which are his repeated requests for the release of detained journalists and the cessation of their arrest.

The Freedoms Committee reiterates the previous demands of the syndicate for the release of more than 23 detained journalists and stresses that the arrest of colleagues Ashraf Omar and Khalid Mamdouh within one week signals the return of practices of arresting journalists. The committee demands the cessation of the security campaign that began targeting and pursuing journalists because of their opinions and journalistic work and emphasises that it will take all legal and syndicate measures to confront this campaign.

The Journalists’ Freedoms Committee of the Journalists’ Syndicate