Tuesday, 2 June 2026
Petition: Free Omar Salah Marei Now!
Global Film Community Stands With Omar Salah Marei: Film Colleagues, Sign The Petition Now!
IN SUPPORT OF OMAR SALAH MAREI'S IMMEDIATE RELEASE & MEDICAL CARE
INVITING THE INTERNATIONAL FILM COMMUNITY TO SIGN THE PETITION
The International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk (ICFR) calls upon film workers, organizations, institutions and individuals around the world to express their support for our colleague Omar Salah Marei, an Egyptian filmmaker and screenwriter forcibly held in pretrial detention since 11 May 2026, and denied access to the medical care he urgently needs. More than 100 film workers and institutions have already signed the petition, including Emma Thompson, Laura Poitras, Walter Salles, Mia Hansen-Løve, the Dardenne brothers, Agnieszka Holland, Mohammad Rasoulof, Aki Kaurismäki, Alex Gibney and Alberto Barbera, director of the Venice Film Festival.
On 11 May 2026, Omar was taken from his home in Cairo by plainclothes security officers without a warrant. During the raid, they seized his laptops, phones, and the scripts for his future projects. He was held incommunicado for six days before being brought before Egypt's Supreme State Security Prosecution. His detention has since been extended twice, the most recent extension of 15 days following a hearing on 25 May. He remains cut off from his lawyer and his family.
The charge against him is "deliberately spreading false news," based on his social media commentary. This is a profoundly questionable charge, widely recognised as a tool of silencing and intimidation, and one that does not, under any circumstances, justify extended detention, deprivation of legal counsel and family contact, or denial of necessary medical care.
Omar has a thyroid disorder requiring daily medication that must not be interrupted, and is still recovering from major wrist surgery he underwent three months before his arrest. There is no indication that he is receiving any medical care. Read more about Omar, his career and his current situation in our original statement here.
We stand with Omar and with every filmmaker's right to create and to speak freely.
With this petition, we call upon the Egyptian authorities to immediately drop all charges against filmmaker Omar Salah Marei, and most urgently, to grant him access to proper medical care and humane treatment during his detention, as required by Egypt's obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Egypt has ratified, and under the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.
Film colleagues: support Omar Salah Marei now by adding your signature to the petition and sharing it in your own networks.
The International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk