The International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk is calling for the “immediate and unconditional” release of Egyptian director and screenwriter Omar Salah Marei who is being held behind bars in Cairo reportedly on trumped up charges of “deliberately spreading false news,” based on posts on his social media accounts.
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Omar Salah Marei, 35 – who is known in Egypt‘s film community for several shorts that blend humor with sharp social and political commentary – was arrested on the evening of May 11 in his Cairo appartment where, according to ICFR, plainclothes security officers “broke down the door, seized four laptops, two phones, cash, and scripts for future projects, and took Omar to an undisclosed location,” without a warrant.
“For six days, no authority acknowledged holding him, and he had no contact with his family or his lawyer,” ICFR said in a statement.
Salah Marei then resurfaced on May 16 before Egypt’s Supreme State Security Prosecution, which is “the most serious prosecutorial track in the country,” according to ICFR. His lawyer, who is prominent human rights attorney Khaled Ali, confirmed to ICFR that Salah Marei has now been submitted by Egypt’s authorities to 15 days of pretrial detention, pending investigation. The charge: “deliberately spreading false news, based on posts on his social media accounts,” ICFR said.
The next judicial hearing, to be held on May 25, will determine whether Omar Salah Marei’s pretrial incarceration is extended. Egyptian authorities could not immediately be reached for comment.
ICFR in its statement underlined that Salah Marei has a medical condition that adds a layer of urgency to this case.
“Omar has a thyroid disorder requiring daily medication that must not be interrupted. Three months before his arrest, he underwent surgery on his wrist — nine screws, two metal plates — and was still in active recovery and physiotherapy when he was taken,” it noted. “We have no reason to believe that he has received any medical care during the nine days he has now been in custody. The Law and Democracy Support Foundation has stated that denying him access to medication and care during his disappearance may already constitute ill-treatment under international law,” the statement added.
“Omar is not a dissident in any conventional political sense,” the statement continued. “He is a filmmaker who came to cinema from engineering through his own initiative, and who uses comedy as a vehicle for social commentary.”
The ICFR – which was founded by the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, International Film Festival Rotterdam and the European Film Academy, to advocate for, and to act in solidarity with filmmakers at severe and acute risk – has vowed to continue to follow this case closely and report on further developments.
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