{"id":550,"date":"2026-05-23T13:38:04","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T13:38:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=550"},"modified":"2026-05-23T13:38:04","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T13:38:04","slug":"international-coalition-for-filmmakers-at-risk-calls-for-release-of-egyptian-filmmaker-omar-salah-marei-jailed-on-charges-of-spreading-false-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=550","title":{"rendered":"International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk Calls For Release of Egyptian Filmmaker Omar Salah Marei Jailed on Charges of \u2018Spreading False News\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<!-- do not apply CSS styles to this element! --><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\n\tThe International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk is calling for the \u201cimmediate and unconditional\u201d release of Egyptian director and screenwriter Omar Salah Marei who is being held behind bars in Cairo reportedly on trumped up charges of \u201cdeliberately spreading false news,\u201d based on posts on his social media accounts.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=548\">\u2018Sholay\u2019 Actor Mac Mohan Gets Documentary \u2018Discovering Sambha\u2019 (EXCLUSIVE)<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n\tOmar Salah Marei, 35 \u2013 who is known in Egypt\u2018s film community for several shorts that blend humor with sharp social and political commentary \u2013 was arrested on the evening of May 11 in his Cairo appartment where, according to ICFR, plainclothes security officers \u201cbroke down the door, seized four laptops, two phones, cash, and scripts for future projects, and took Omar to an undisclosed location,\u201d without a warrant.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\u201cFor six days, no authority acknowledged holding him, and he had no contact with his family or his lawyer,\u201d ICFR said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tSalah Marei then resurfaced on May 16 before Egypt\u2019s Supreme State Security Prosecution, which is \u201cthe most serious prosecutorial track in the country,\u201d 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\u2019s authorities to 15 days of pretrial detention, pending investigation. The charge: \u201cdeliberately spreading false news, based on posts on his social media accounts,\u201d ICFR said.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tThe next judicial hearing, to be held on May 25, will determine whether Omar Salah Marei\u2019s pretrial incarceration is extended. Egyptian authorities could not immediately be reached for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=546\">Lionel Messi Fan\u2019s Journey Anchors Indian Indie \u2018Love You Messi\u2019 as Project Boards Hong Kong EP at Cannes (EXCLUSIVE)<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n\tICFR  in its statement underlined that Salah Marei has a medical condition that adds a layer of urgency to this case.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\u201cOmar has a thyroid disorder requiring daily medication that must not be interrupted. Three months before his arrest, he underwent surgery on his wrist \u2014 nine screws, two metal plates \u2014 and was still in active recovery and physiotherapy when he was taken,\u201d it noted. \u201cWe have no\u00a0reason to believe\u00a0that 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,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\u201cOmar is not a dissident in any conventional political sense,\u201d the statement continued. \u201cHe is a filmmaker who came to cinema from engineering through his own initiative, and who uses comedy as a vehicle for social commentary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\n\tThe ICFR \u2013 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 \u2013 has vowed to continue to follow this case closely and report on further developments.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=544\">Mubi Scoops Up North American Rights to Lukas Dhont\u2019s \u2018Coward\u2019 at Cannes (EXCLUSIVE)<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk is calling for the release of Egyptian filmmaker Omar Salah Marei, arrested without a warrant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":549,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[585,586,587],"class_list":["post-550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-film","tag-censorship","tag-egypt","tag-international-coalition-for-filmmakers-at-risk"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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