The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRinfo) salutes Abdel Moati Hegazi, a prominent Egyptian poet, for his refusal to pay a L.E 20,000 fine imposed against him by an appeal court in Cairo, after he was charged with insulting Yusuf al Badri, an extremist infamous for his enmity towards freedom of thought and expression. HRinfo calls for advocates of freedom of opinion and expression and enlightenment in Egypt to extend their solidarity to the poet Abdel Moati Hegazi and to stand collectively against calls of extremism by this sheikh and his likes.
The latest court ruling in favor of al Badri to fine Hegazi, in an insult lawsuit raised by the former in 2003 against the latter, is the latest episode of a series of lawsuits raised by al Badri against various writers, thinker and poets, sometimes as a hesba case, and on some other occasions as an insult case.
The Southern Cairo court decided on the 8th of August as a date for selling the home furniture of this prominent poet in order to put into effect the court ruling, after Hegazi refused to pay the money, preferring his home furniture to be sold rather than paying the money for the sheikh who opposes the freedom of thought and expression.
It should be mentioned that Nasr Hamid Abu Zaid was among the victims of sheikh al Badri in the famous case of 1993-1994, which resulted in a court ruling of divorcing Abu Zaid from his wife. While Abu Zaid immigrated to the Netherlands after the court ruling, referring writers and thinkers to the court has not ceased, and many of those cases are raised by the sheikh who is laying in wait for writers and for enlightened though in Egypt, Hegazi being his latest victim. Other cases raised by the sheikh against other writers, thinkers and poets are still in court.