The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) has renewed its call for Public Prosecutor Mohamed Shawky to immediately release translator and cartoonist Ashraf Omar, who has been held in pretrial detention for nearly seven months. Tomorrow, Wednesday February 5th, Omar will appear — via videoconference — before the Terrorism Circuit of the Cairo Criminal Court at the Badr courts complex for a detention renewal hearing.
Omar was arrested at his home on July 21st, 2024. Two days later, he was brought before the Supreme State Security Prosecution and questioned in connection with Case No. 1968 of 2024, facing charges of “spreading false news, misusing social media, and joining a group established in violation of the law.” He has since been held at 10th of Ramadan Prison 6.
Since his arrest, like many other detainees in Egypt, Omar has had severely restricted contact with the outside world. The Ministry of Interior continues to violate the legally stipulated prison visitation rules by maintaining the drastically reduced visitation policy first introduced as an exceptional measure during the Covid-19 pandemic. Visits are limited to one visit per month, lasting only 20 minutes.
In a troubling escalation, the Public Prosecution recently detained journalist Ahmed Serag after he recorded a video interview with Omar’s wife, academic Nada Moghith, in which she spoke about the circumstances of her husband’s arrest and detention conditions. On January 15th, Moghith herself was summoned before the State Security Prosecution and accused of joining a terrorist group, spreading false news, and misusing social media, in connection with Case No. 7 of 2025. She was later released on bail of 5,000 Egyptian pounds, while Serag remains in pretrial detention in the same prison as Omar.
According to the Journalists Syndicate, the cases of Omar and Serag are not isolated incidents: at least 25 journalists are currently detained in Egypt for performing their professional duties or exercising their constitutional right to freedom of expression. More than half are being held illegally, having exceeded the maximum legal limit for pretrial detention.
On January 28th, during its Universal Periodic Review session, Egypt received 21 recommendations from 21 countries on freedom of expression and media freedom, urging the government to stop prosecuting journalists for doing their jobs and to guarantee their independence and safety.
The EIPR emphasizes that neither Omar, Serag, nor Moghith have been presented with credible evidence that would justify terrorism-related charges. Instead, they were detained simply for expressing their opinions or conducting legitimate journalistic work. The organization urges compliance with Article 134 of the Criminal Procedures Law, which strictly defines when pretrial detention is permissible — conditions that clearly do not apply to Omar, whose detention renewal will be reviewed tomorrow, nor to Serag, whose renewal hearing is scheduled for next week.
The EIPR calls on Public Prosecutor Mohamed Shawky to exercise his legal authority to immediately release Ashraf Omar and Ahmed Serag, drop all charges against them and Nada Moghith, and close their cases once and for all.
