Today marks a sad day for freedom of expression. It is the one-year anniversary of the unlawful arrest and “pre-trial detention” of Egyptian cartoonist Ashraf Omar.
On July 22nd, 2024, a Cairo activist, cartoonist, and translator named Ashraf Omar was taken from his home by plainclothes officers. Forty-eight hours elapsed before there was any official acknowledgment of his arrest or confirmation of his wellbeing or location.