The Dokki Misdemeanor Appellant Court in Giza has accepted an appeal filed by actor and singer Mohamed Ramadan against his sentence of one year in prison with LE10,000 bail and a LE20,000 fine over tarnishing the reputation of former pilot Ashraf Aboul Yousr.
Lawyer Magdy Helmy filed a lawsuit against Ramadan for publishing videos where he accused Aboul Yousr of demanding LE nine million in compensation from him, and mocked him while shooting a series.
Helmy said the videos stirred the public opinion against Aboul Yousr and tarnished his reputation.
Aboul Yousr said that he would petition the Civil Aviation Authority to reconsider his suspension after he allowed Ramadan to enter a plane’s cockpit during a flight.
In July, Egypt’s Dokki Misdemeanor Court sentenced Ramadan to one year in prison, LE10,000 bail and a LE20,000 fine in a lawsuit filed against him by Aboul Yousr.
Ramadan has gone public over his dispute with Yousr, who was dismissed from his job after a video of Ramadan in the cockpit of a plane went viral last year in October.
The Civil Aviation Authority suspended Aboul Yousr and his co-pilot and referred them to urgent interrogation for violating the rules of international and Egyptian civil aviation, and for potentially endangering passengers.
Aboul Yousr reportedly demanded LE9.5 million in compensation after Ramadan initially expressed his willingness to compensate the pilot for any damages resulting from the video’s fallout.
In a Facebook post, Ramadan explained that “Captain Ashraf dispatched his attorney, who met with my accountant and submitted to him his estimated settlement, which include his pension and other claims. The total amount of compensation he wants is LE9.5 million.”
Ramadan said he would leave judgement to those criticizing him, and claimed that if they view this demand as reasonable he’d do it with no complaint.
Aboul Yousr, however, claims he did not ask Ramadan for any money.
The plane was making a special trip to Riyadh to transport Ramadan, his band, and two friends to a concert in Riyadh at the invitation of the Saudi Entertainment Authority.
According to aviation sources, Ramadan entered the cabin and sat in the co-pilot’s seat while the plane was flying on autopilot mode. The crew’s mistake, the sources said, was in allowing Ramadan to enter the cabin at all, and to film inside, violating regulations.
