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An Egyptian atheist is in “serious danger” following his arrest and assault after protestors threatened to kill him and burn down his house in connection to the dissemination of a film insulting the Prophet Mohammed, his lawyer has warned.
Albert Saber
Alber Saber, a 27 year-old and computer science student from Cairo, is accused of defaming Islam — an antiquated legal charge that has seen a partial revival in a post-revolution Egypt dominated by Islamist groups.
Saber’s lawyer, Ahmed Ezzat, explained how his client’s ordeal began last Wednesday when a rumor spread that he had posted a trailer of the film “The Innocence of Muslims” on an atheist Facebook page. “With the famous film, the situation is very tense at the moment and many people in the neighborhood said that he had posted the film online and burned the Quran,” Ezzat told me from Cairo.
Saber’s mother, Kariman Mesiha Khalil, called the police and asked them to protect her son. “I was not scared for myself; I was scared for my son. They were coming to butcher him,” she said. When the police finally arrived, instead of protecting Saber, they arrested him. According to Ezzat, Samer was transported to a local police station and thrown in a crowded jail cell. The guard on duty took his time to silence the rest of the inmates, informed the entire room that Saber had insulted the Prophet, locked the door, and left.
Saber was attacked by several prisoners, one of whom held a razor blade to his throat. “He could have inflicted a serious injury,” Ezzat said. “We believe Saber is in serious danger. The public prosecutor will not tell us where he is being kept. No one knows where he is.”
Albert Saber
Alber Saber, a 27 year-old and computer science student from Cairo, is accused of defaming Islam — an antiquated legal charge that has seen a partial revival in a post-revolution Egypt dominated by Islamist groups.
Saber’s lawyer, Ahmed Ezzat, explained how his client’s ordeal began last Wednesday when a rumor spread that he had posted a trailer of the film “The Innocence of Muslims” on an atheist Facebook page. “With the famous film, the situation is very tense at the moment and many people in the neighborhood said that he had posted the film online and burned the Quran,” Ezzat told me from Cairo.
Saber’s mother, Kariman Mesiha Khalil, called the police and asked them to protect her son. “I was not scared for myself; I was scared for my son. They were coming to butcher him,” she said. When the police finally arrived, instead of protecting Saber, they arrested him. According to Ezzat, Samer was transported to a local police station and thrown in a crowded jail cell. The guard on duty took his time to silence the rest of the inmates, informed the entire room that Saber had insulted the Prophet, locked the door, and left.
Saber was attacked by several prisoners, one of whom held a razor blade to his throat. “He could have inflicted a serious injury,” Ezzat said. “We believe Saber is in serious danger. The public prosecutor will not tell us where he is being kept. No one knows where he is.”
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