18th November, 2015
An Egyptian Christian, jailed for 38 months on unsubstantiated charges, has had his expected acquittal delayed again to February next year, World Watch Monitor has reported his lawyer as saying.
The news organisation reports that Bishoy Garas, primary school teacher, was sentenced to six years in prison from September 2012 for offending Islam, the then Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, and a Muslim sheikh’s sister. However, the charges, relating to Facebook posts, were found on a fake Facebook page opened in his name.
Despite posting warnings on his own Facebook page about the fake account and alerting police as well as claims by his friends of a named hacker and cyber investigation reports attesting to his innocence, on 18th September, 2012, Mr Garas was convicted of three counts of insult and blasphemy and sentenced to a total of six years in prison. An appeal hearing before another judge of the Sohag Misdemeanour Court on 27th September upheld the ruling.
World Watch Monitor reports that Mr Garas was due to have a ruling in favour of his acquittal on 14th November. But the judge put it off again until 13th February next year, owing to “the issue’s sensitivity,” the lawyer Magdy Farouk Saeed said, hinting that a “discreet” hearing with fewer attendees may be more appropriate. He was, however, still confident about his client’s upcoming acquittal. “The judge will rule in Bishoy’s favour. It is as good as done,” Mr Saeed said.
On 25th July, Cairo’s senior Court of Cassation had ruled against the six-year prison sentence earlier meted out to the Copt. It took Mr Garas until 9th October, however, to walk free, due to “intransigence by the prosecution, and prison authorities dragging their feet”, his lawyer said.
Yet, while Mr Garas may have finally been freed from prison, he is still not free to go home. His father, Kameel, told World Watch Monitor his son was “advised” not to go home for fear for his life from possible attacks by Islamists.
“They advised us that my son should not head back home for fear for his life from possible attacks by radical Muslims,” his father said. “We were told to wait for things to calm down after the elections have concluded,” he added, referring to the country’s first round of parliamentary polls which saw a massive defeat for the hardline Salafist Al-Nur party. A second round of voting is due this Sunday, 22nd November.
Mr Garas told World Watch Monitor that the time he spent in prison "made me draw really closer to God. It was more or less a retreat time for me with Him".
“Despite the dangerous charges levelled against me, I could see God’s hand throughout. Even fellow inmates in both the Wadi-el-Gedid and Menya prisons were kind to me. They could see that I was being unjustly treated,” he added.
Once he has his innocence formally pronounced, Mr Garas will have to sue in the Administrative Court to be able to regain his job – a process which could consume three more months, he said.
But the family is taking no chances. “Even after an expected acquittal, we’re not taking him back home just yet. For his safety, we are arranging alternative accommodation,” Kameel Garas said. “We are asking everyone to lift Bishoy in prayer!” he added.
– DAVID ADAMS (with World Watch Monitor)
