An Egyptian court on Tuesday threw out a case brought against telecoms tycoon and liberal politician Naguib Sawiris by a group of lawyers who accused him of showing contempt for religion, saying the plaintiffs had no legal standing in the case.
The lawyers had brought the case against Sawiris, a prominent figure in Egypt's Coptic Christian community, over a cartoon he posted on the social networking site Twitter that they considered an insult to Islam.
Sawiris, chairman and founder of the mobile phone operator Mobinil, posted a cartoon in June of Mickey Mouse with a long beard and Minnie Mouse veiled in black.
The court, headed by Judge Ehab Yousry, dismissed the case against Sawiris on the grounds that it had been filed by individuals who "lack legal standing."
Sawiris's company suffered a boycott by some customers after news of the cartoon spread, but Sawiris said the impact had eased by October.
The official MENA news agency reported that another trial for Sawiris on the same charge of insulting religion was expected to arrive at a verdict on 3 March.
The plaintiff in that case is MP Mamdouh Ismail, a hardline Islamist lawyer with the Salafi Nour party.
Earlier this month, the Arab world's most famous comedian, Adel Imam, received a three-month jail sentence for insulting Islam in films and plays.
Sawiris is a vocal critic of Islamist parties which have emerged in Egypt since former President Mubarak was ousted in February last year. He is a co-founder of Free Egyptians, a liberal party advocating the separation of state and religion.
