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Al-Ahram Weekly 9 - 15 March 2000 Issue No. 472 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 9 - 15 March 2000 Issue No. 472
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Focus Books Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons The writing on the wall
By Amira HoweidySpraying graffiti on a street wall is not illegal so long as it does not "disturb the public order". But according to the Al-Azbakiya district prosecution, graffiti declaring "No to normalisation with Israel" and "No to the arrest of journalists" on a wall warrants misdemeanour charges.
Two university students, who are also members of the Islamist-oriented Labour party, were arrested in August for spraying anti-Israeli sentiments on a wall next to the Ramses railway station. At the time, Magdi Hussein, chief editor of the Labour party's mouthpiece Al-Shaab, had been imprisoned for failing to provide evidence to support his newspaper's campaign against Agriculture Minister Youssef Wali.
The minister was accused by Al-Shaab of wreaking havoc on the country's agriculture due to normalisation agreements with Israel. Ahmed Khamis, one of the two defendants, said: "We were provoked because Hussein was arrested; so we bought two cans of spray and wrote 'No to Zionism', 'No to normalising relations with Israel' and 'No to the arrest of journalists'. We never thought we'd end up in court."
The prosecutor has decided to refer the case to a State Security court. Despite the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty signed more than two decades ago, relations between the two countries have remained in a state of ebb-and-flow. With the recent Israeli shelling of Beirut and southern Lebanon, hostile Egyptian sentiments have been on the rise. Official statements, the national press and even the state-run television have all fired salvoes of anti-Israeli rhetoric.
Perhaps the most telling example remains the bi-monthly Editor-in-Chief TV show, hosted by Hamdi Qandil. In the latest programme, Qandil began by warning viewers of the coming "hideous" footage, which turned out to be a hysterical David Levy, Israel's foreign minister, shouting the now infamous "child for child" statement at the Knesset.
A week later, the Political Parties Committee, which is responsible for licencing political parties, made a move, unprecedented in 22 years, and approved the first new political party in 22 years. The party's platform, interestingly enough, reflects a clear anti-Israeli discourse and urges the government to acquire the atomic bomb.
Sami Shouman, the Al-Azbakiya district prosecutor, said the issue of putting the two defendants on trial does not have political implications. "Anyone who propagates literature or sentiments hostile to a country with which we have peace is violating the law. From a legal perspective, this is not a crime but, as with the case of the two young men, it is a misdemeanour," he told Al-Ahram Weekly. "We do this because such incidents [as writing anti-Israeli graffiti] usually incite people. And instead of 10 people being involved, the number could easily swell to 2000, and this is no exaggeration."
If the two defendants are found guilty, the penalty for violating article 102 of the Penal Code ranges between one month to three years imprisonment and a maximum fine of LE200.
