Ashraf Omar Trial Begins May 10
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Cartoonist Ashraf Omar will be tried in Egyptian court beginning May 10. He’s been detained since July 2024 on four charges. According to his lawyer, three charges have been dropped but the prosecution added a new charge and will move forward to charges related to terrorism.
The Initial charges are:
- Joining a terrorist group
- Financing the terrorist group
- Publishing ideas and beliefs advocating for the commission of terrorist acts
- Publishing false statements regarding the country’s internal affairs to undermine the state and disturb public peace and safety
Charges 1, 3, and 4 have been dropped and “participating with a terrorist group in the realization of its objectives” is the new charge.
We have also found out more information about his initial interrogation. After he was “apprehended at a security checkpoint established in the vicinity of his home” (official record) or “arrested from his house” (Ashraf’s claim) he was questioned about the cash that was seized from his home, his translation work for the “Al-Arabi Post”, and he was confronted with several cartoons. Ashraf confirmed he was the cartoonist and they were published on the “”Al-Arabi Post” website. We’ve known about the two cartoons in color as being related to his arrest, but the ones in black and white are new “evidence” that the investigators had to question him.
We will continue to follow the developments of Ashraf’s trial. To read past articles visit the Asharf Omar tag archives.
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