168 Sentenced To Prison In Egypt For Protesting Outside US Embassy Against Anti-Islam Film

A Cairo Court has sentenced 168 defendants to two years in prison for demonstrating against an anti-Islam film on the 11th anniversary of 9/11 in 2012.

The defendants had been charged with thuggery, resisting authorities, use of violence, possession of weapons, assaulting public employees, and vandalizing public and private properties, reported Aswat Masriya.

Protesters had gathered outside the US Embassy in Cairo in September 2012 to demonstrate against ‘Innocence of Muslims’, a film produced in the US that ridiculed the Prophet Muhammad.

In Egypt, protesters replaced the American flag with the Black Standard (including the one used today by ISIS), while in Libya, the Consulate was set on fire, killing Ambassador Christopher Stevens, information officer Sean Smith, and ex-Navy SEAL commandos Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty.

The film was released on YouTube in July 2012 but only came to prominence when it was broadcast by Salafist Sheikh Khaled Abdulla on Al-Nas, an Egyptian television channel.

Outraged, hundreds of Egyptians gathered outside the US Embassy’s walls chanting anti-Obama and anti-US chants. Some Islamist demonstrators even praised Osama Bin Laden, chanting “Obama, we are all Osama.”

The demonstrations were condemned by liberal parties and groups in Egypt at the time who urged the government to prevent further protests.

Subscribe to our newsletter