A lawyer has filed criminal charges of treason against the famous Egyptian actor Khaled Abol Naga following a video where he criticized President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and suggested he leave the country.
“Anyone insults his president and authorities is rude and is betraying the armed forces,” Samir Sabry, the lawyer who filed the charges told the private-owned channel Sada Albalad.
In a video posted by Al Bawaba News, Abol Naga criticized the suspension of some film festivals and the displacement of Sinai residents for security precautions, saying that obsessing over security may put the country in danger, especially in the wake of Arab Spring as people are no longer as afraid.
Speaking to Sisi, Abol Naga also said in the video, “People mandated you and there is no smart enemy, because the Islamists are the stupidiest people, besides the fact that Egyptians irrevocably hate them, so how you aren't able to do your job? If you can’t, you should leave.”
Despite the wave of anger sparked by some talk show presenters, a group of cinema professionals and writers released a press statement on Monday, supporting the freedom of expression of any Egyptian, which is a constitutional right and should be free from the fear or harassment from those who consider themselves defenders of their country.
The group denounced what they said was the worst example of propaganda in the current Egyptian political system, and demanded the the lawyer be punished for violating a right guaranteed by the Egyptian Constitution for all citizens.
In response, Abol Naga cited the Article 65 of Egypt’s constitution on his twitter account as a feedback to the lawsuit filed. The article says that freedom of thought and opinion is guaranteed, and everyone is entitled to express his opinion orally, written, by photos or by other means of expression and publication.
Abol Naga kicked off “Support_Abol_Naga” a new twitter hashtag and condemned the rough media criticism on his twitter account saying that he has the right to sue every media body or other who is a part of the campaign against him for expressing his opinion.
