Egyptian Cartoonist Islam Gawish Released

“Hey, no, throw away what’s in your hand.” Cartoon by Anwar

Popular cartoonist Islam Gawish was released Monday, one day after his arrest on charges of running a news website and Facebook page “without a license,” according to a statement released on Gawish’s Facebook page.

An earlier statement on his page had announced that the detainment was a result of his “anti-government drawings.”

Gawish’s arrest incited other caricaturists to draw cartoons denouncing his arrest. Criticized for a crackdown on freedom of speech, the cartoons portrayed President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi in fear of being drawn, or of a paper, which is the translation of the name of Gawish’s page “Waraqa.”

The Ministry of Interior noted in a statement that Gawish was found to be in possession of an internet router and a CPU. The general prosecution had ordered Gawish’s arrest after a complaint was filed against him.