Egypt: Court sentences lawyer to jail over rape remarks
Wahsh had said it was a "national duty" to rape women wearing tight, ripped jeans. Photo: Shutterstock
(AFP) - An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced a lawyer to three years in prison for saying that women wearing ripped jeans should be raped, a judicial source said.
The sentence against Nabih al-Wahsh was passed in absentia as the lawyer, previously released on bail, did not attend the hearing on Saturday.
Wahsh’s comments during a television programme had provoked outrage and complaints to the state prosecutor, who decided to put him on trial.
Wahsh had said it was a "national duty" to rape women wearing tight, ripped jeans.
Nabih al-Wahsh sparked an outrage over his comments on a TV channel. Photo: AlAssema Tv/Youtube
The prosecution had charged him with "publicly inciting to flout the law" and "spreading with malice reports and statements meant to perturb public order... and harm the public interest".
The sentence can be appealed.
Egyptian women have long complained of rampant sexual harassment, which the government has been working for several years to address with a tougher law.
