Egypt lawyer challenges law that says writers can be jailed

CAIRO: A lawyer on Saturday challenged a law that allows writers to be jailed for violating public morals, requesting the suspension of a case against an author on trial for work that prosecutors say is immoral.
Nasser Amin made the motion in court during the trial of Ahmed Naji, who faces up to two years in jail and a fine up to 10,000 Egyptian pounds ($1,245) if found guilty of violating a law that says individuals can be punished for publishing material contrary to public morals.
Amin requested a constitutional court review the law, citing two articles in the constitution that prohibit imprisonment for published material, except for cases that encourage violence, are discriminatory and in incidents of defamation. The case stems from an excerpt of Naji’s novel, “The Use of Life,” published in Akhbar Al-Adab magazine in August 2014.
It contains explicit sex acts and references to habitual hashish use by the characters.
The prosecution insisted the excerpt be treated as a work of journalism.
Amin linked the prosecution to a crackdown in Egypt over the past two years against extremists following the July 2013 military ouster of President Muhammad Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood.