Blogger Given Three Years In Jail For Discussing Infidelity in Egypt

200px-Facebook.svgWe have another abusive case out of Egypt under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. President al-Sisi has destroyed guarantees of free speech and the free press in country, which once seemed on the road to becoming an exception in the Muslim world as a nation embracing basic civil liberties. In the latest case, an Egyptian court sentenced blogger Taymour el-Sobki to three years in jail with hard labor for “spreading false news.” The “false news”? He simply opined that 45 percent of married Egyptian women have the readiness for “immorality” and to cheat on their husbands. That now gets you three years in Egypt.

Egypt has seen a dramatic rollback on civil liberties under al-Sisi. In Egypt, a teenager was jailed for cartoons of Muhammad and a leading businessman was attacked for a cartoon of Micky Mouse with a beard. Then there was the three-year sentence given Amr Nohan, a 22-year-old law graduate for posting a Facebook image of el-Sisi with Mickey Mouse-style cartoon ears. A leading cartoonist Islam Gawish, 26, was arrested in Egypt by the hyper sensitive al-Sisi government. We recently discussed how Egypt’s Attorney General Nabil Sadeq ordered an investigation into a TV presenter, Azza Al-Henawy, who simply criticized al-Sisi for not delivering on promise.

In the case of el-Sobki, he is a popular commentator with more than one million followers on Facebook. He has a Facebook page called “Diaries of a Suffering Husband” and opined that “[m]any women are involved in extramarital affairs while their husbands are abroad.” He criticized arranged marriages as only exacerbating the problem of infidelity. His comments led to death threats for challenging Islamic values.

The plight of academics and writers in Egypt is shocking. Brave intellectuals and lawyers continue to fight to protect free speech in the country — at great personal and professional risk. It is a fight for the very soul of the country. Yet, under al-Sisi, Egypt is descending back into the darkness of censorship and authoritarianism. He is being enabled by judges and prosecutors who have instruments of opposition in dismantling both civil liberties and the rule of law.

Source: Washington Post

8 thoughts on “Blogger Given Three Years In Jail For Discussing Infidelity in Egypt”

  1. Egypt has been trending more extremist. Unfortunately, the hard core fanatics were the best organized in the Arab Spring. I shudder to think of the fate of all the archeological wonders of Egypt. They have certainly managed to severely degrade the tourist trade which helped support the economy.

    It is disheartening to see the erosion of free speech, not only in the Middle East where it has never had much of a foothold, but in the West, as well.

  2. This is how American ‘allies’ treat their citizens. Nice company to keep. But I guess in comparison to Rwandan genocide it is considered humane treatment for speaking freely.

    It’s likely Trump is paying attention to how Egypt handles those who don’t agree with the manifesto. He may hate them but he wouldn’t kill them. Ha, ha….

  3. If that percentage drops while he’s locked up they may conclude he’s Egypt’s very own Casanova..

  4. Lock him up and throw away the key. This is Egypt. Land of pyramids and unadulterated adults. Take it on the chin,
    Sllim. Throw away the key, Lee. Jump off the bluff, Fluff.

  5. More than 25% of Egypt’s population is illiterate. When unsubstantiated rumors, like this one, which cast Egyptian women as unfaithful whores, hit the streets, the females in that society will, surely, suffer.

  6. Where do these people come up with these percentages? 45%? Not 46%? What about 47%? His absurd and unfounded statistics were probably based upon some random thoughts that he had as he was relaxing at an outdoor cafe and puffing on his hookah. He just succeeded in making life, in Egypt, that much more unbearable, than it already is, for the poor women unfortunate enough to have to live in that Islamic hell hole. As if Egypt doesn’t have its share of honor killings, more men will now feel emboldened to harm and/or murder their wives or female relatives upon the unfounded and ridiculous suspicion, based upon this idiot’s baseless statistics, that married women, in that society, routinely cheat on their husbands. Ridiculous remarks, in certain parts of the world, are more than merely ridiculous remarks–people will die because of this man’s idiocy. Muslim countries don’t need much incentive to abuse, harm or murder their females. It’s now open season on women in Egypt.

  7. Good! A really good example of the “broken glass” theory in action. Today it is talking about adultery, and next week it is committing adultery, and a few years later it is divorces, broken families, and sky high STD rates.

    In America, adultery was once considered “moral turpitude”, and those engaged in that practice needed to have some discretion, and a quiet “correspondent.” For example, for lawyers:

    The uncertainness and ambiguity of the “moral turpitude” standard invites a court to discipline lawyers for acts that may be crimes in some states, although the crime is not connected or even relevant to the attorney–client relationship. A typical example of the old rule came up in Grievance Committee of Hartford County Bar v. Broder, 112 Conn. 263, 152 A. 292 (1930), in which the Supreme Court of Connecticut held that a lawyer’s extramarital relations with a consenting person who was not a client subjects the lawyer to discipline. The court disbarred the lawyer in that case. If the lawyer’s conduct “shows that he is unfit to discharge the duties of his office, is unworthy of confidence even though the conduct is outside of his professional dealings, it is sufficient. If he is not honest; if he is not moral; if he is not of good demeanor, he may be disbarred, and should be.”

    The Model Rules changed all that, or at least tried to. Comment 2 to Rule 8.4 makes clear, “Discipline is inappropriate for violations of ‘personal morality’ such as adultery.” However, not all courts got that memo. A few jurisdictions still discipline attorneys for “moral turpitude.” In fact, some courts discipline and find “moral turpitude” even despite having adopted the language of the ABA’s Model Rules.

    https://verdict.justia.com/2015/06/22/disciplining-lawyers-who-engage-in-moral-turpitude

    Sooo, over the years “adultery” became more acceptable in most states, and across many facets of life. What was once “moral turpitude” became “one’s personal morality.” The one factor which seems most to influence crime, drug use, and poverty – the breakup of the family unit- became quite common. The “family” had a great big target painted on its back. The Egyptians have an advantage over America. They have the ability to see where the loosening of morals leads just by looking at us and the West in general. Who can blame them if they draw back in fear?

    Squeeky Fromm
    Girl Reporter

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