Egypt's first graphic novel banned, publisher fined LE 5,000 |
|
CAIRO: The author of Egypt's first graphic novel, which on Saturday was officially banned, has vowed to fight the ruling.
"I'll appeal the verdict. I will not accept [a punishment] for something that I did not do," Magdy L Shafee, author of the banned graphic novel, "Metro," told Daily News Egypt.
Qasr El-Nil misdemeanors court on Saturday found Shafee and "Metro" publisher Mohamed El-Sharqawy guilty of printing and distributing a publication infringing public decency, and handed down a LE 5,000 fine against both of them.
The court also rejected the appeal against the administrative ban imposed by a vice squad -- and subsequently confirmed by the public prosecution office -- that seized all copies of the comic in April 2008, a few months after its publication.
Shafee told Daily News Egypt that he was aware that sections of Metro -- which contains limited content of a sexual nature -- might offend some readers and that it was for this reason that a " for adults only" warning was put on the front cover. Shafee added that the comic's content does not mean that it should be removed from the market.
"It is unethical to suppress freedom of speech and take books off the market," Shafee said. "This is about more than 'Metro.' If we stay passive we will lose our rights."
Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) director Gamal Eid said that "there is no country which exercises liberty and bans novels," adding that the court objected to some of the "crude language" used in the novel despite the fact that "this is the exact same language used in the street."
Eid also added that defense lawyers submitted to the courts images published in daily newspaper Rose El-Youssef which were "more lewd" than the graphics in "Metro" that the court objected to.
Defense lawyers had argued both the unconstitutionality of the articles under which these charges were brought, and that no violation occurred because the events described in the work occur in an artistic and dramatic context.
ANHRI was one of three human rights organizations that condemned the verdict "as a serious setback to the right to creativity and freedom of expression."
The organizations' statement, issued Saturday, added, "Courtrooms are not the place for literary criticism." -Additional reporting by Omnia Al Desoukie
By Sarah Carr
© Daily News Egypt 2009
Zawya is a distributor (and not a publisher) of content supplied by third parties and subscribers. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers, or other information or content expressed or made available by those third parties, including information providers, subscribers or other users of the Service, are those of the respective author(s) or distributor(s) and not of the Company. The Company neither endorses nor is responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, advice or statement made on the Service by anyone other than authorized Service employee spokespersons while acting in their official capacities. The Company is not responsible for any infringement of intellectual property rights or breach of any applicable law or regulation, including regulation in relation to financial services or the distribution of financial products, defamation, data protection, telecommunications (including regulations relating to excessive use, spamming or other abusive activities) or obscene, offensive or illegal content). Under no circumstances will the Company be liable for any loss or damage caused by a member's reliance on information obtained through the Service. It is the responsibility of member to evaluate the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, opinion, advice or other content available through the Service. Please seek the advice of professionals, as appropriate, regarding the evaluation of any specific information, opinion, advice or other content.
Read the full Member Agreement
http://www.zawya.com/legal/NewsLetter.cfm?name=disclaimer
Comment on this article 
Loading ...-
Zawya encourages you to add a comment to this discussion. You agree that when you add content to this discussion your comments will not:
1.1 Contain any material which is libelous or defamatory of any person, is obscene, offensive, hateful or inflammatory or causes damage to the reputation of any person or organisation.
1.2 Promote sexually explicit material, violence, discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age or any illegal activity.
1.3 Be made in breach of any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual duty or a duty of confidence.
1.4 Be threatening, abuse or invade another's privacy, or cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety.
1.5 Be used to impersonate any person, to misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person, or be likely to deceive any person.
1.6 Give the impression that they represent Zawya.
1.7 Advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act such as (by way of example only) copyright infringement or computer misuse. - The content posted on www.zawya.com is created by members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of Zawya. Zawya reserves the right to review all comments prior to posting and edit or delete any contribution, but Zawya is not responsible for and can not be held liable for any content posted by members of the public on www.zawya.com.
- Zawya is not responsible for the availability or content of any third party sites that are accessible through www.zawya.com. Any links to third party websites from www.zawya.com do not amount to any endorsement of that site by Zawya and any use of that site by you is at your own risk.
- By submitting your comment, you hereby give Zawya the right, but not the obligation, to post, air, edit, exhibit, telecast, webcast, re-use, publish, reproduce, use, license, print, distribute or otherwise use your comments worldwide, in perpetuity.
Stories
Companies
| Company Name | Country | Industry |
| Consolidated Contractors Company | Overseas | Construction and Design |
| Saudi Binladin Group | Saudi Arabia | Construction and Design |
| Saudi Telecom | Saudi Arabia | Telecommunications Services |
| Saudi Electricity Company | Saudi Arabia | Electric Utilities |
| Dubai Electricity and Water Authority | UAE | Electric Utilities |
| Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company - Saudi Arabia | Saudi Arabia | Construction and Design |
| Ministry of Health - Saudi Arabia | Saudi Arabia | Ministries and Municipalities |
| National Oil Corporation - Libya | Libya | Oil |
| Roads and Transport Authority - Dubai | UAE | Regulatory and Administrative Bodies |
| Maroc Télécom | Morocco | Telecommunications Services |
Projects
| Project Name | Country | Sector |
| ADNOC/ConocoPhillips - Sour Gas Fields Development - Shah Field | UAE | Oil and Gas |
| ENEC - Nuclear Power Plant | UAE | Power and Water |
| Takreer - Ruwais Refinery Expansion | UAE | Oil and Gas |
| SATORP - Jubail Refinery and Petrochemical Complex | Saudi Arabia | Oil and Gas |
| Aramco/Dow Chemical - Ras Tanura Integrated Refinery and Petrochemicals Complex | Saudi Arabia | Oil and Gas |
| Abu Dhabi Ports Company - Khalifa Port and Industrial Zone (KPIZ) | UAE | Infrastructure |
| IGD - Gasco - Habshan 5 Gas Processing Plant | UAE | Oil and Gas |
| Abu Dhabi DOT - Abu Dhabi Metro | UAE | Infrastructure |
| Emirates Aluminium (EMAL) - Smelter Complex - Phase 1 | UAE | Industry |
| Qatar Foundation - Sidra Medical and Research Center | Qatar | Real Estate |