Egypt called to drop 'blasphemy' charges against Christian teens for mocking ISIS
A human rights group has urged Egypt to drop the blasphemy charges filed against four Christian teenagers and their teacher after they mocked ISIS in a private video.
In a statement released on Sunday, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged the Egyptian authorities to "quash" the blasphemy charges slapped against the four Christian teens and their teacher. The human rights group also said Egypt should revoke the law that allows authorities to prosecute those accused of blasphemy, The Christian Post reports.
On Feb. 25, Mueller Edward, 17, Alber Ashraf, 16, and Bassem Hanna, 6, were sentenced to five years in jail for participating in a video wherein they mocked ISIS' act of beheading their hostage. Clinton Yousef, 7, was sentenced to five years in a juvenile facility, and their teacher got a three-year jail sentence, Al-Bawaba relays.
The teens' defense lawyer Maher Naguib indicated that they are planning to appeal the ruling, which he said was too harsh. He told the AFP that the judge gave the teens the maximum punishment.
HRW deputy Middle East director Nadim Houry said the Christian teens should not be imprisoned for what they did because they were just joking around. Instead of punishing them for an immature joke, Houry suggested that Egypt should protect their freedom of expression.
"These children shouldn't face prison for expressing themselves, even with an immature joke," said Houry. "The continued prosecution of blasphemy cases in Egypt goes against the government's claim to be promoting a more inclusive vision of religion."
Edward's father explained to HRW that the boys were so troubled with the slaughtering of Coptic Christians in Libya when they made the controversial video in January 2015. He said the boys did not mean to offend anyone with the video, the report relays.
Other activist groups including the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights echo HRW's sentiment. For them, the ruling on the blasphemy charges filed against the Christian teenagers was too harsh.