02:00 PM
Sunday, May 26, 2024
Books – Hossam El Din Ahmed:
The Ismailia Misdemeanor Court sentenced blogger Sherif Jaber to 5 years in prison, on charges of publishing videos on social networking sites that insult religions and incite atheism.
Lawyer Al-Haitham Saad had filed a lawsuit against the accused, before the Second Ismailia Misdemeanor Court, in which he was accused of contempt of the Islamic religion. The court accepted the lawsuit in case No. 3391 of 2024, and set a date for the pleading with notification of both parties.
Since 2016, blogger Sharif Jaber has been presenting episodes that raise topics related to religion, sex, and politics, while stirring controversy by presenting and denying some of the constants of the Islamic religion.
In 2019, he posted a video clip on his account calling on his followers to support him and donate $100,000 to him so that he could purchase a foreign nationality and escape from Egypt for fear of the accusations against him of contempt of religions.
Al-Haytham said in his lawsuit that Sharif Jaber published video clips that included committing the legally criminal act and insulting religion, and demanded that he be punished according to the provisions of Articles 98, 160, and 161 of the Penal Code.
The merits of the ruling stated that the court, after reviewing the lawsuit petition and the evidence of the accusation, hearing the plea, and gathering evidence, was satisfied that the accused had violated the articles of the law, which required the accusation against him to be proven and his punishment to be imposed.
The lawyer who filed the case said: The ruling issued by the Second Ismailia Misdemeanor Court represents a protection for the constants of Egyptian society, and a confirmation of what has been proven by conclusive evidence that the accused deliberately, through videos, insulted God and mocked the Islamic religion, which is criminalized by the Constitution and the law.
Al-Haytham Hashem added that the accused was openly insulting the Islamic religion, and deliberately insulting the religion under the pretext of freedom and expression of opinion, and this continued for a long period, which confirmed that the accused’s aggressive behavior against society and its morals is deeply rooted in his thought, and he insists on it.
The editor of the lawsuit continued in press statements: The accused has been broadcasting videos on social media sites in which he broadcasts contempt, ridicule, and mockery of all pillars of religion, denying Heaven, Hell, and judgment, and mocking the Day of Resurrection.
He stressed that Egyptian law criminalizes expressing or publishing extremist ideas with the intent of sedition, degrading or disdaining religions, or harming national unity or social peace, and anyone who commits these acts is punishable by imprisonment, a fine, or both.