Lawyer jailed for rape remarks
Publish date: 04 December 2017
Issue Number: 754
Diary: IBA Legalbrief Africa
Category: Egypt
An Egyptian lawyer has been sentenced to three years in prison for saying that women who wear ripped jeans should be raped in punishment. As previously reported in Legalbrief Today, Nabih al-Wahsh sparked an outcry when he made the remarks in a televised debate on a prostitution draft law. ‘Are you happy when you see a girl walking down the street with half of her behind showing? I say that when a girl walks about like that, it is a patriotic duty to sexually harass her and a national duty to rape her,’ was his infamous comment. BBC News reports that the National Council for Women's Rights said the incident was a ‘violation of everything in the Egyptian constitution’. The prominent conservative was also fined $1 000.