CAIRO: A lawyer on Saturday challenged a law that allows writers to be jailed for violating public morals, requesting the suspension of a case against an author on trial for work that prosecutors say is immoral.
Nasser Amin made the motion in court during the trial of Ahmed Naji, who faces up to two years in jail and a fine up to 10,000 Egyptian pounds ($1,245) if found guilty of violating a law that says individuals can be punished for publishing material contrary to public morals.
Amin requested a constitutional court review the law, citing two articles in the constitution that prohibit imprisonment for published material, except for cases that encourage violence, are discriminatory and in incidents of defamation. The case stems from an excerpt of Naji’s novel, “The Use of Life,” published in Akhbar Al-Adab magazine in August 2014.
It contains explicit sex acts and references to habitual hashish use by the characters.
The prosecution insisted the excerpt be treated as a work of journalism.
Amin linked the prosecution to a crackdown in Egypt over the past two years against extremists following the July 2013 military ouster of President Muhammad Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Egypt lawyer challenges law that says writers can be jailed
Egypt lawyer challenges law that says writers can be jailed
Iran unrest persists, top judge warns protesters
- Demonstrations sparked by soaring inflation
- Western provinces worst affected
DUBAI: Iran’s top judge warned protesters on Wednesday there would be “no leniency for those who help the enemy against the Islamic Republic,” while accusing Israel and the US of pursuing hybrid methods to disrupt the country.
The current protests, the biggest wave of dissent in three years, began last month in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar by shopkeepers condemning the currency’s free fall.
Unrest has since spread nationwide amid deepening distress over economic hardships, including rocketing inflation driven by mismanagement and Western sanctions, and curbs on political and social freedoms.
“Following announcements by Israel and the US president, there is no excuse for those coming to the streets for riots and unrest, chief justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the head of Iran’s judiciary, was quoted as saying by state media.
“From now on, there will be no leniency for whoever helps the enemy against the Islamic Republic and the calm of the people,” Ejei said.
Iranian authorities have not given a death toll for protesters, but have said at least two members of the security services have died and more than a dozen have been injured.
Iran’s western provinces have witnessed the most violent protests.
“During the funeral of two people in Malekshahi on Tuesday, a number of attendees began chanting harsh, anti-system slogans,” said Iran’s Fars, news agency.
After the funeral, Fars said, “about 100 mourners went into the city and trashed three banks ... Some started shooting at the police trying to disperse them.”
The semi-official Mehr news agency said protesters stormed a food store and emptied bags of rice, which has been affected by galloping inflation that has made ordinary staples increasingly unaffordable for many Iranians.
