Ashraf Omar who works as a cartoonist for an independent news website Al-Manassa was at his apartment on 22 July at midnight when a group of security forces members raided his home and blindfolded him into a vehicle to an undisclosed location. Ashraf Omar's wife Nada Mogheeth told Al-Manassa that she was not there at the time, but a security camera of the building captured that incident. When she returned home, she noticed her husband's laptop and mobile were missing, and their apartment was in disrepair.
In an editorial, the Al-Manassa said that Ashraf Omar was detained after he drew a series of satirical images for their website, some of which were joking about the power outage crisis and the possibility of operating the monorail while the resources were scarce. The editor in chief sent a letter requesting support to the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate (EJS) and demanded the union urge the authorities to disclose the detention location and prevent them from being brutal and unlawful to the cartoonist.
On 16 July at midnight, journalist of the news website Arabic Post Khaled Mamdouh Ibrahim was taken by security forces from his home and forcibly disappeared for five days before the Supreme State Security Prosecution issued an order for 15 days detention on charges of spreading false news and being involved in terrorism activities. According to his brother-in-law, security forces raided Ibrahim's house that night, took his laptop and mobile, and attacked some members of his family.
The EJS's Freedom Committee has sent a letter to the Attorney General urging them to reveal the place of detention of their colleagues, the conditions of their detention, and demanding the release of Ashraf Omar and Khaled Mamdouh Ibrahim. The committee also demanded the release of more than 23 imprisoned journalists and the end of the detention of journalists critical of the authorities.
EJS Chairman Khaled El-Balshy said, "The arrest of colleagues Ashraf Omar and Khaled Mamdouh within a week marks a return to the practice of arresting journalists. The committee demands an end to the security campaign, which began targeting and persecuting journalists for their opinions and journalistic work. We will take all legal and trade union measures to confront this campaign."
IFJ strongly condemns the targeting and persecution of journalists and calls on the authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Ashraf Omar and Khaled Mamdouh Ibrahim and the 23 journalists who are still in detention.
IFJ Deputy General Secretary Tim Dawson said, "The persecution of journalists is a deliberate attempt by the authorities to silence the media and stop them from reporting the truth. We call on the authorities to uphold press freedom and guarantee the safety of journalists."