In keeping with the series in which the Egyptian government targets freedom of expression, the Egyptian Supreme State Security Prosecution renewed the detention of Egyptian translator and cartoonist Ashraf Omar for 15 days, for the fifth time since his arrest, pending investigations in case numbered 1968 of 2024, Supreme State Security Investigations.
The defense team for Ashraf Omar claimed in court that the detention renewal procedures are illegal since they are being carried out remotely via video conference without the detainee’s physical presence. This is in violation of the Criminal Procedure Code, which does not specify such a procedure. In addition, because the detainee is being held in the Tenth of Ramadan Prison while the detention renewal session is taking place in the New Cairo Court, the detainee is being kept apart from his attorney, which is against both the Egyptian Constitution and the Code of Procedure.
The defense team declared that it would uphold the rights guaranteed by the law and the constitution, emphasizing that laws and constitutional provisions are approved and issued with the intention of being implemented and upheld, not of being disregarded or impeded.
For the fourth time in a row, the detention renewal session was conducted in accordance with standard procedure without any investigations. It lasted a few minutes, during which the defense briefly discussed its case. It should be noted that no investigation was carried out other than the first session, which took place after his arrest and appearance at the State Security Prosecution headquarters.
In a previous session, Ashraf Omar’s defense team had confirmed that Omar had been beaten and tortured by security personnel both during and after his arrest at the National Security headquarters detention center, where he was kept forcibly missing for several days.
Omar has been translating books and articles and creating caricatures for several years with several websites, such as “Al-Manassa” and “Mada Masr.” He has recently published several caricatures criticizing the government’s economic policy, though it is unclear why he was arrested or where he is being held.
The cartoonist Ashraf Omar’s renewed detention for the fifth time highlights the gravity of the threat to press freedom, journalists’ rights to free speech and information sharing, and the risk of escalation that certain regimes face in an effort to silence dissenting voices. As such, the international community and human rights organizations must pay attention to these cases and bring attention to the abuses that happen against journalists and activists.
