Egypt: Wife of detained cartoonist Ashraf Omar arrested after podcast appearance

2025-01-17 05:48:00

Abstract: Egyptian cartoonist's wife, Nada Mogeis, arrested after podcast about his detention. Interviewer also arrested. Her husband's detention, extended repeatedly, is due to his cartoons criticizing the government.

According to lawyer Khaled Ali, Nada Mogeis, the wife of Egyptian cartoonist Ashraf Omar, was arrested by Egyptian security forces on Monday. Mogeis's arrest occurred after she gave a podcast interview a month prior, in which she disclosed details of her husband's arrest.

According to Zat Masr, the platform that broadcast the podcast, the person who interviewed Mogeis was also arrested. Ali stated that individuals claiming to be from the Egyptian Supreme State Security Prosecution appeared at Mogeis's home in the morning and took her away. "This is all the information we have about her at the moment. We are investigating which agency these two men belong to, where they took her, and why," Ali said on Facebook.

It was later confirmed that Mogeis was taken to the Fifth Settlement Supreme State Security Prosecution in Cairo, and her defense team is waiting for permission to enter and accompany her during the investigation. Omar was arrested in July, and his detention has been extended multiple times, most recently on December 10 for 45 days.

Activists and media outlets believe his detention is related to his recent cartoons. One cartoon criticized Egypt's plans to build a monorail in Cairo while citizens face power outages. In another cartoon, he directly accused the government of alleged mismanagement of Egypt's economic woes. "Peaceful Cartoon," an international organization defending cartoonists around the world, stated it was "appalled by the extension of his pre-trial detention and the lack of any guarantees of his right to a fair trial."