Ashraf OMAR

Cartoonist and translator Ashraf Omar, arrested in July 2024, remained held in pre-trial detention on bogus national security charges including ‘participating in a terrorist group to achieve its objectives,’ and ‘financing terrorism through funds, data, and information’ at the end of the year. Though in November 2025, the SSSP referred Omar, and others, to trial. No date had been set by the end of the year. 

Security forces detained Omar from his home on 22 July 2004, physically assaulting him and confiscating his personal belongings. Two days later he appeared before the SSSP who ordered his pre-trial detention, which has been extended numerous times (see case list 2024). Egyptian authorities have not adequately investigated his allegations of ill-treatment. 

Born on 8 May 1968, Ashraf Omar is a cartoonist and translator who has worked with several independent media and news websites, including Al-Manassa and Al-Hoodoud. His work tackles social, political and economic issues in Egypt, including the debt crisis and electricity outages.