Egyptian Christian Appeals 5-Year Prison Sentence for Making Video

An Egyptian Christian who was sentenced to five years in prison for filming a video of violence between Muslims and Christians will be appealing the ruling reports Christian Today. 

Mohamed Hegazy was handed down a misdemeanor charge on June 18 for failing to obtain permission to film clashes between religious groups in the Minya region. Though prison time for a misdemeanor charge should not exceed six months, Hegazy received five years. He now plans to appeal the verdict. 

Attorney Kara Ghobrial said, “Hegazy is accused of filming a demonstration without permission, so according to the law this is a misdemeanor. So this verdict is contradictory to the law because it didn’t include paying the bail to release the accused until the appeal, as in all misdemeanor crimes.”

Hegazy converted to Christianity in 1999 and requested that the Egyptian government recognize his religion in 2007, though Islam is the official religion of the nation. 

“The real reason for keeping Armeya in custody is being a convert,” Ghobrial said. 

Publication date: June 30, 2014