Tuesday, August 06, 2013
Elder of Ziyon
Egypt's interim president, Adly Mansour, had amended the law regulating the punishment for the crime of insulting the president.Not too many national leaders, even interim leaders, would have the humility to pull this off.
His presidential decree stated that if found guilty, the accused could pay a fine of up to LE30,000 ($4,290) but no less than LE10,000 ($1,430).
This amends Article 170 of the Egyptian penal code, which dictated that an insult to the president lands the offender a minimum of 24 hours in jail but not to exceed three years.
Several activists, political figures and civilians were detained or forced to pay a fine for allegedly offending deposed president Mohamed Morsi.
The number of "insulting the president" lawsuits during Morsi's reign exceeds those filed under all Egyptian rulers since 1892, reveals the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) in a report issued in January.
Furthermore, it says 24 lawsuits for insulting then-president Morsi had been filed against journalists and activists since his inauguration in June 2012. Three of the lawsuits were filed by the president's office with the prosecutor-general.
Maybe the interim government can throw in laws that give women equal rights and other Western-style liberal laws that would be difficult for subsequent governments to overturn without looking bad.
