Egyptian court upholds actor Adel Imam's sentence

A court in Egypt has upheld the three-month prison sentence given to the leading comic actor, Adel Imam, for insulting Islam in his films and plays.

Imam was also fined $170 (£105) by the court in the capital, Cairo.

The 71-year-old was initially found guilty in absentia in February in a case brought by an Islamist lawyer but was given a retrial. He may appeal.

Imam's is the latest case concerning freedom of expression against a high-profile figure in Egypt.

Two separate lawsuits accusing the Coptic Christian Telecoms tycoon Naguib Sawiris of blasphemy were dismissed earlier this year.

Mr Sawiris angered conservative Muslims last year when he tweeted cartoons of Mickey Mouse in a beard and Minnie Mouse wearing a veil.

The case brought against Imam by Asran Mansour, a lawyer with ties to Islamist groups, accused the actor of frequently mocking the authorities and politicians in his films and plays, and offending Islam and its symbols.

Imam's movies regularly top the Egyptian box office and the types of roles he plays have varied enormously across his career.

Mr Mansour was reportedly offended by the film Al-Irhabi (The Terrorist), in which Imam plays a radical Islamist; the play Al-Zaeem (The Leader), a comedy satirising Middle Eastern autocrats; and the film Morgan Ahmed Morgan, which sees a rich businessman stand for parliament.