World War 3 Illustrated

UPDATE 3 MONDAY 9:13AM -

Apologies, Magdy has not been released yet. Twitter reports that they are at the station signing papers for him and waiting as of this morning:

https://twitter.com/metahatem
https://twitter.com/MuhAladdin

UPDATE 2 (1:12 PM EST):

Magdy has been released on LE1000 bail (approximately $150), but the charges have not been dropped and the case will continue. We can only speculate that international pressure was key to his early release, and we will be maintaining our campaign of solidarity and support throughout the case until these false charges are dropped.

El-Watan newspaper report on Magdy’s bail in Arabic:

http://www.elwatannews.com/news/details/16887

Translation:

ARTIST MAGDY EL SHAFEE TO BE RELEASED ON LE1000 BAIL

The Qasr al Nil prosecution decided today to release Magdy El Shafee, the comics artist and pioneer of the graphic novel, on LE1000 bail, after he was arrested during Friday’s “cleanse the judiciary” clashes on charges of possession of firearms, illegal assembly, attacks on security forces and damage to public property.

The prosecution had sentenced him yesterday to 4 days of interrogation.

However, Magdy’s brother, Omar El Shafee, told El-Watan that the case is continuing, and that he had not been released yet, but that he was expected to be released from either the Darb al-Ahmar or Qasr al-Nil station when they pay his bail, which they were on the way to do. He also emphasized that the solidarity vigil in front of the Journalists’ Syndicate for Dr. Shafee is continuing.

 Later reports on Facebook confirm that Magdy has now been released. Stay tuned for more information and a possible upcoming solidarity event in NYC.

UPDATE ON MAGDY L SHAFEE:

Magdy L Shafee was arrested in Cairo Friday night. He has been charged, along with 38 other protestors arrested, with clearly trumped up charges, including possession of molotov cocktails, attempted murder of police officers, and destroying public property. According multiple witnesses, El Shafee had gone down to try to stop the clashes and was arrested at random, while walking through the square, because he didn’t run away from the cops. He has been taken to the infamous Tora Prison for 4 days of interrogation.

We continue to urge our friends to call the Egyptian embassy in Washington, D.C. and demand they release Magdy L Shafee and all unarmed demonstrators. You can call them at: 202-895-5400

More information at:

http://wordswithoutborders.org/dispatches/article/magdy-el-shafee-arrested-and-held-at-tora-prison

https://www.facebook.com/magdy.shafee

Follow #freemagdy on twitter for updates

 (The top poster says “Magdy is not a thug!” and gives information about his arrest, the bottom image is a drawing by Ammar Abo Bakr of police officers outside the court where Magdy made an appearance yesterday in handcuffs— it says “Free Magdy L Shafee” at the top and “police are dogs”)

Friends in Cairo have informed us that last night Egyptian cartoonist Magdy L Shafee was arrested along with dozens of other demonstrators against the Muslim Brotherhood and the government of Egypt. His friends tell us he was unarmed and went down to the protest to urge calm. Shafee is known as the creator of the first Arabic graphic novel, Metro, and was a contributor to issues #42 and #43 of World War 3 Illustrated (pictured here is his wraparound cover for #42). Second photo of Shafee from today’s appearance in court. We urge our readers to call the Egyptian Embassy in Washington, D.C. and demand they release Magdy L Shafee and all unarmed demonstrators. You can call them at: 202-895-5400

This weekend in NYC it’s the Anarchist Book Fair and MoCCAFest! And you bet WW3I will be at both, so drop by our tables and say hi to us! On Saturday, from 2:30-4 WW3I founder Peter Kuper will be speaking at MoCCA and from 3-4:15 a bunch of WW3I artists will be presenting new material at the ABF! Come say hi! Buy magazines!

by Jenny Gonzalez-Blitz

The Red Umbrella Project has commissioned comics and illustrations as part of their campaign against police harassment and arrest of sex workers, LGBTQ and non-gender-conforming people for carrying condoms, including this one by artist K. Funk:

http://www.redumbrellaproject.org/nycondom/#comics

WW3I artist Jordan Worley made this flyer for Refugee Protest Camp Vienna:

http://refugeecampvienna.noblogs.org/

https://www.facebook.com/RefugeeCampVienna

Palestinian cartoonist Mohammed Saba’aneh has been held without charge since February 16th by the Israeli military. You can find more about his case, including regular updates, petitions and statements from Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists, solidarity cartoons from around the world (like this one by Fadi Abou Hassan) and information about who to call to demand his release at CartoonMovement: http://blog.cartoonmovement.com/2013/03/mohammad-sabaaneh-arrested.html

See the rest of this mysterious image by Pat Perry in World War 3 Illustrated #44, out this week! Come to our release party on March 7th, or order a copy online now!

Who would dare? Read the rest of “Single Lens Reflex” by Sandy Jimenez—full comic in World War 3 Illustrated #44, out this week! Come to our release party on March 7th, or order a copy online now!

A preview of a new comic by Sabrina Jones—full comic in World War 3 Illustrated #44, out this week! Come to our release party on March 7th, or order a copy online now!