For insulting security forces, Egyptian poet gets 3 years jail
The lawyer, Mokhtar Mounir, said today that Galal el-Beheiri was also convicted of "disseminating false news."
- Country:
- Egypt Arab Rep.
A rights lawyer says an Egyptian military court has sentenced a poet to three years in prison for insulting the country's security forces.
The lawyer, Mokhtar Mounir, said today that Galal el-Beheiri was also convicted of "disseminating false news."
The verdict can be appealed.
El-Beheiri was arrested in March after he wrote a collection of poems entitled "The Best Women on Earth," a play on a saying attributed to the Prophet Muhammad that Egypt was the birthplace of "the best soldiers on earth."
In recent years, authorities have detained journalists, novelists, playwrights and stage actors on charges that include contempt of religion, harming national security, inciting strife or breaching morality.
Their arrest is part of an ongoing crackdown on dissent that has seen thousands jailed.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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