Egypt arrests cartoonist for illegally running a webpage

An Egyptian cartoonist, whose work is occasionally critical of government policies, is arrested in the capital, Cairo, on Sunday and charged with running a webpage without a license, the country’s Interior Ministry says in a statement.

The arrest of Islam Gaweesh appears to be part of an intensified clampdown on activists and journalists in Egypt, where many have been detained, questioned and even forcibly disappeared in recent months.

In custody, Gaweesh was told that the only charge actually against him so far was “publishing drawings that are offensive to the regime,” his lawyer Mahmoud Othman tells The Associated Press.

Most of Gaweesh’s work dealt with the mundanities of life in Egypt. One of his most recent cartoons tackled the recent cold snap in the country by showing a man asking his love interest on the phone why she is cold in an effort to appear manly. “The weather is great,” he says before being interrupted by a group of penguins in the window telling him to shut up.

One of the few cartoons Gaweesh has recently drawn that are critical of government figures targeted a foul-mouthed pro-government lawyer and lawmaker Mortada Mansour, who often threatens to beat his political opponents with his shoes. Earlier this month, Mansour was selected to head the parliament’s human rights committee.

— AP