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Activist Anas Hassan given three years in prison, fined ~$19,000 for atheist Facebook page

Anas Hassan was given three years in prison and fined around $19,000 USD for operating the "Egyptian Atheists" Facebook page. His home was raided, resulting in his arrest after an investigation by the Egyptian Public Prosecution.

Anas Hassan
Date:
Feb 27, 2020
By:
State
Type:
Imprisoned, Fined
Accused of:
Promoting Atheism
Occupation:
Activist
Citizen:
Egypt
Country:
Egypt

Anas Hassan, an Egyptian blogger and activist, had his home raided by police in August 2019, after which he was arrested. His offenses were “insulting religion and misusing social media”: he had been the operator of a Facebook page called “Egyptian Atheists.” The page contained content promoting atheism and disparaging Islam and other religions.

After several months of detention, Anas was tried and sentenced in February 2020, receiving three years’ imprisonment and a fine of roughly $19,000 USD. Though Anas attempted to appeal the verdict, this plea was rejected a few months later.

Further Reading
Egypt

Egypt has a general blasphemy law that prohibits disparaging “the heavenly religions.” While the law ostensibly targets no religion in particular, in practice it is usually used against religious minorities and those who blaspheme Islam. Egypt’s Coptic Christian minority has particularly borne a disproportionate weight of blasphemy prosecutions. In addition to the relatively aggressive efforts of Egyptian authorities to prosecute such cases, blasphemers and atheists must also contend with social pressure, coercion, and the risk of vigilante violence.

Cases in Egypt
Actor Adel Emam sentenced to imprisonment for "defaming Islam"
Activist Anas Hassan given three years in prison, fined ~$19,000 for atheist Facebook page
Activist Ahmed Harkan and pregnant wife assaulted, brutalized by police; miscarriage results
Al-Azhar student Kareem Amer expelled, imprisoned three years; tortured for blasphemy, atheism
Egyptian Coptic Alber Saber imprisoned after sharing satirical film on Islam
Ayman Yusef Mansur sentenced to three years in prison with hard labor for Facebook blasphemy
Copts Ayman Rida Hanna and Mounir Massad Hanna imprisoned for blasphemous social media video
Bishoy Kameel fired, imprisoned, and beaten for fabricated blasphemous Facebook posts
Schoolteacher Dimiana Abdel-Nour accused of blasphemy by students, arrested
Prominent secularist professor and writer Farag Foda assassinated
Poet and journalist Fatima Naoot given three years for criticizing Eid "massacre"
Coptic teacher Gad Younan and students mock ISIS, imprisoned for blasphemy, fined, exiled
Coptic 17-year-old Gamal Abdou Massoud given three years in prison for blasphemy
Pro-Islamic-reform TV show canceled, host arrested for blasphemy
Student Karim al-Banna imprisoned for announcing atheism online
Activist Maikel Nabil Sanad subjected to official blasphemy investigation, self-exiles from Egypt
Christian school secretary Makram Diab gets 6-year sentence for asking "blasphemous" question
Sheikh Mizo teaches tolerance, criticizes scripture, receives 5-year sentence
Comedian Mohamed Ashraf arrested on blasphemy charges for mocking Qur'an radio show
Activist Mustafa Abdel-Nabi sentenced to three years for atheistic Facebook posts
Coptic children Nabil Nagy Rizk and Mina Nady Farag arrested for blasphemy
Author Naguib Mahfouz suffers assassination attempt for blasphemous writings
Leading liberal theologian and writer Nasr Abu Zayd forced into exile
Coptic lawyer Roman Murad Saad given year in prison, hard labor for "ridiculing" Quran
Popular Islam-critical YouTuber Sherif Gaber arrested trying to escape Egypt
Student Youssef Hani arrested for supporting France amid blasphemy controversy