Popular Egyptian cartoonist Islam Gawish arrested

Egyptian cartoonist Islam Gawish was arrested Sunday afternoon for, authorities say, operating a website without permission, while his official Facebook page and lawyer claim he was arrested for an anti-regime cartoon.

In a short statement, the Facebook page of Gawish “Al-warqa”, which posts his cartoons, said that he was arrested from his office. The page, which exceeds 1.6 million likes, also announced that it suspended its activities because of his arrest.

Islam Gawish was arrested at his work in Egypt News Network (ENN) Sunday afternoon along with an accountant working with the website. The accountant was released, but Gawish is still detained.

An interior ministry statement said ENN publishes news without permission.

The statement added that the popular social media cartoonist was arrested for running “his own website,” without the authorisation of the Ministry of Telecommunications, which, according to the statement, violates the law regulating communications.

It is not clear whether the site the statement says Gawish is running is ENN or another one.

Gawish was also arrested for possession of pirated copies of software, the interior ministry added.

Ahram Online spoke with Gawish’s lawyer, Mahmoud Othman, who said that his client was detained at Nasr City 1st police station, and that police officers did not let him see the arrest warrant for Islam Gawish or know the official reason of his arrest.

“Unofficially and verbally, I was told that Islam Gawish was accused of using [means of communication] to spread anti-regime cartoons,” Othman told Ahram Online.

“The arrest of Islam is illegal and unconstitutional as the 2014 Constitution’s Article 67 clearly stipulates that the state has to protect artists and intellectuals,” Othman said, adding that currently there is a crackdown against cultural centres and artists like Gawish.

In early January, three independent cultural venues were stormed and closed down by local municipality officials as well as the censorship and tax authorities, for alleged illegal licensing issues.

Othman added that his client is going to the prosecution Sunday evening in Nasr City and that he is waiting for him to arrive.

Gawish earned fame on social media after starting a doodle cartoon Facebook page called “Al-Warqa” (The Paper), where posted cartoons mostly about social issues in Egypt. His second comic book, Al-Warqa Part Two, was released recently.