In Egypt's first-ever internet-related obscenity case, a prominent poet's son could be indicted for posting his deceased father's "immoral" work on a website.
Egyptian police have arrested the son of the poet and playwright, who posted his father's unpublished and allegedly obscene poem on the web, his lawyer were quoted by AFP as saying on Sunday.
The case indicates that a newly-formed internet police unit is now scouring the web for alleged crimes, and represents a test case for freedom of expression, lawyer Hafez Abu Saada told the agency.
Shohdy Naguib was arrested Thursday night on charges of "distributing immoral materials" for having published his father's poem on a server outside of Egypt, Abu Saada said.
The prosecutor on Sunday ordered Naguib's release on bail, Abu Saada said, but not before the police had transferred him among numerous police stations.
The poem in question, which is still posted on the web, is often referred to as the Ummiyat (roughly, "Mother Verses").
“The following pages contain expressions that might be found unacceptable and even obscene by some of You, dear Arabic surfers. Many of the ideas expressed by the Poet might raise very uncomfortable questions which You might be unable to answer or cope with especially if You are a minor,” said a warning introducing the work.
The poem uses highly graphic language, and has been described by one critic as "a direct and forceful stream of abuse, invective and lyricism" aimed at Egyptian officialdom, whom Surur blames for losing the 1967 war against Israel and other failings.
Surur, whom many Egyptian critics consider to be a troubled poetic and theatrical genius, died in 1978. Although the Ummiyat was never published in his lifetime, it has been available on-line for at least three years, said the agency – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
