News emerged on Wednesday that an Egyptian student had been arrested for “insulting religion” on a Atheism Facebook group he created. Police were initially pointed towards his activities for creating the group itself, and monitoring ultimately lead to arrest as he posted comments against religion.
Article 98 of the Egyptian penal code states that ridiculing or insulting a heavenly religion is punishable by law. While Egyptian atheists have made significant progress in the country over the last few years, the recent crackdown on cyber activity is making life increasingly precarious for activists who ply their trade online.
The result of the investigation of Gaber’s “crime” might shed some light on Egypt’s trajectory in dealing with online dissent.
via The Rationalist