Accused of insulting the Prophet in front of her pupils, Dimiana was arrested and charged with blasphemy. She fled to France, whereafter she was sentenced to imprisonment in absentia.
Abied Abdel-Nour (father)
Dimiana Abdel-Nour is an Egyptian Christian who, until May 2013, worked as a schoolteacher. This ended when three of her students, all less than ten years old, accused her of insulting the Prophet Muhammad by comparing him unfavorably with the Coptic Pope Shenouda. Dimiana, school administrators, and ten of her other students deny the truth of the accusations, but nonetheless, she was arrested and tossed into jail. She was 23 at the time.
Dimiana, school administrators, and ten of her other students deny that this happened, but nonetheless, she was arrested and tossed into jail.
Although Dimiana was shortly thereafter released on bail, her criminal charges remained. After seeing early signs that her trial would not be conducted fairly, she fled to France as an asylee for her own protection. In the meanwhile, she was indeed found guilty.
From France, Dimiana attempted to appeal her blasphemy conviction in hopes of returning home, but she instead received a six-month prison sentence on top of the initial fine, to which she was sentenced in absentia.
Christian teacher to be tried in Egypt for insulting Islam - Reuters
Egypt Coptic teacher remains in prison over blasphemous statements - Al Arabiya
The Egyptian Inquisition - Women of 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.