A criminal court in Cairo convened on Monday at Badr Prison and adjourned the trial of Ashram Omar, a cartoonist for the online publication Al Manassa, until 12 October 2026, according to a Facebook post by his lawyer, Khaled Ali.
The Egyptian cartoonist has now been behind bars for almost two years and, it seems, the government is manoeuvring to drag out his legal proceedings and keep him in prison. The trial, which was scheduled for 10 May, was postponed until13 Julyfor reasons relating to “witness statements”, as Ashraf’s lawyer, Khaled Ali, reported at the time.
According to the lawyer’s statement, the court has now decided to adjourn the proceedings once again so that the prosecution’s first witness, the investigating police officer, can attend the next hearing and be questioned.
Omar and 11 other defendants, including one woman, were committed for trial in Case No. 11846 of 2025 (Serious Offences under the Fifth Agreement) last November, after spending 16 months in pre-trial detention following their arrest at their homes on 22 July 2024.
According to Ali, the prosecutors also accused him of“using a website to promote ideas and beliefs that advocate terrorist acts, and of deliberately publishing false news, statements and rumours both inside and outside the country regarding Egypt’s internal situation in a manner that could undermine the prestige and standing of the state, disrupt public security and peace, sow fear amongst the public and harm the public interest.”
Ali added that when the order was issued on 15 November last year, the prosecutors dropped three charges, but retained the charge of financing a terrorist group and added the charge of collaborating in the activities and objectives of a terrorist group.
Omar’s arrest sparkedwidespread condemnationfrom press freedom organisations, and more than 800 authors, intellectuals and artistscalled for his releasein a manifesto of solidarity with the cartoonist.
Thirty-four Egyptian and international organisations defending human rights and press freedom, including “Article 19”, also condemned theimprisonment of journalistsin Egypt. On 7 August 2024, 11 human rights organisations denouncedattacks on journaliststhrough judicial and security measures, as well as enforced disappearances, solely for carrying out their journalistic work.
You can find the rest of the notes on this case here.
Humour in Trouble: A Collection of Cases
Cases of cartoonists who have faced significant problems as a result of their satirical cartoons or illustrations. There are also some stories of other people who, whilst not cartoonists themselves, have run into trouble for sharing them.
