Egypt refers cartoonist Ashraf Omar to criminal court on terrorism-related charges

Egypt’s State Security Prosecution has referred cartoonist and translator Ashraf Omar to a criminal court, accusing him of helping a "terrorist organisation" achieve its objectives, according to Egyptian media reports citing his lawyer, Khaled Ali.

Ali said Omar’s wife, Nada Maghith, learned of the referral by chance during a visit to him at the 10th of Ramadan Prison on Saturday morning.

She said Omar had been taken from his cell on Tuesday to the prosecution headquarters in New Cairo without prior notice to him or his legal team.

He was informed of the referral decision alongside other defendants but was not allowed to review it or learn the full charges against him.

Omar was arrested in July last year and was forcibly disappeared for more than two days, during which his family and lawyers were unable to determine his whereabouts.

Days after his arrest, Omar appeared before the State Security Prosecution, which accused him of "spreading false news", "misusing social media" and "joining a group established in violation of the law", without presenting evidence to substantiate the allegations.

Earlier this month, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights condemned the continued detention of Omar, after a court at the Badr prison complex ordered his pre-trial detention extended for 45 days in the same case.

Thirteen UN Human Rights Council mandate holders have also expressed deep concern over his ongoing imprisonment and called for his immediate release.

A joint statement by the UN experts said that criminalising political expression in Egypt under the pretext of national security and counterterrorism was "a deeply worrying practice".

The signatories included the Special Rapporteur on cultural rights, the Special Rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, and the chairs and members of both the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the Working Group on Enforced Disappearances.