Cartoonist and translator Ashraf Omar arrested from home late at night

Security authorities arrested caricaturist for independent news outlet Al-Manassa and translator Ashraf Omar in the early hours of Monday morning from his home in October Gardens, Giza, and took him to an unknown destination, his wife, Nada Mougheeth, told Mada Masr.

The reasons for his arrest and his current place of detention were unknown at the time of writing. Al-Manassa Editor-in-Chief Nora Younis called on the Journalists Syndicate to advocate on Omar’s behalf on Monday.

Mougheeth, who was not at home at the time of Omar’s arrest, said that she tried to call her husband repeatedly but found that his phone was off and her calls weren’t reaching him.

She said she first asked a neighbor to knock on the door of their home before finally seeking help from security in the compound to open the apartment door. Omar was not found in the apartment.

After reviewing security camera footage, she saw that her husband was taken away blindfolded by a security force who arrived at the compound in two cars, Mougheeth said. 

The security forces, who stayed in the apartment for 40 minutes between 1:30 am and 2:10 am, also confiscated a large sum of money, she said, as well as Omar’s personal computer from the apartment.

Younis told Mada Masr that she petitioned Journalists Syndicate chair Khaled al-Balshy, asking him to intervene in Omar’s case to “learn his whereabouts, ensure his safety, represent him legally and prevent the authorities from oppressing journalists and acting outside the framework of the law.”

In her letter to Balshy, Younis stressed that “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.” She expressed her readiness to answer questions about Omar if summoned by investigators.

In its coverage, Al-Manassa also called on Public Prosecutor Mohamed Shawky to “clarify the journalist’s situation, announce his place of detention and the charges against him, and facilitate a meeting with his lawyer.”

During his career as a cartoonist, Omar has contributed art to numerous outlets, while his translation work has spanned the publishing world, from works on political history to journalistic articles, including work for Mada Masr.