Lawyer sentenced to jail after calling for rape of women

CAIRO – 2 December 2017: The State Security Emergency Misdemeanor Court sentenced lawyer Mohamed Ahmed Bahnasy, known as Nabih al-Wahsh, to three years in jail on Saturday. Wahsh was charged with threatening public order and security, as well as incitement to harm citizens.

Wahsh, who declared on a live TV show for the raping of women in ripped jeans, did not attend the final session of his trial and neither did his lawyer.

Wahsh was a guest on a TV program on October 18, during which he participated in a debate over a draft law aimed at fighting prostitution. He proclaimed that woman who wear ripped jeans deserve to be sexually harassed and raped, calling it a “national duty.”

The lawyer’s seditious comments spread quickly, causing public anger and condemnation.

Maya Mursi, head of the National Council for Women, condemned the comments, calling them “shameful,” saying that the national duty is to protect women’s dignity and freedom.

Mursi added on October 29, during a phone call with the TV show “Al Ashera Masaa” (10 p.m.) on Dream TV, that the council will file a complaint with the attorney general against Wahsh and Al-Assema, the channel which hosted the lawyer.

A number of female MP’s called on the country's High Council of Media Regulations, the governing body tasked with regulating media content and performances, to take action against provocative voices that incite violence against women on TV.

Several days after his controversial comments, the Higher Council of Media Regulations banned Wahsh from making TV and media appearances.