By Mai Shams El-Din
CAIRO: The Nasr City Misdemeanor Court decided Monday to fine former Military General Abdel Moneim Kato LE 10,000 and another LE 10,000 as civil compensation for his remarks about protesters “who should be put in Hitler’s chambers.”
The Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) and Association of Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE) filed a lawsuit against Kato on behalf of blogger Wael Abbas, student Mohamed Taher, ANHRI Executive Director Gamal Eid and AFTE head Emad Mubarak, accusing the ex-general of inciting violence against protesters, libel and defamation.
“The court considered the libel and defamation charges and dropped the incitement charge which could have led him, if considered, to a three-year prison sentence,” Eid told Daily News Egypt.
“We are half way through. It is a good verdict since it proved him guilty for insulting the revolutionaries,” Eid added.
Abbas agreed with Eid, describing the verdict as a step forward.
“We wish he would have received the maximum sentence, but the most important thing is that we had a court ruling against him, regardless of what the ruling is,” the veteran blogger told DNE.
Kato told Al-Shorouk daily newspaper in an interview published Dec. 19, following the clashes between protesters and army forces in front of the Cabinet building: “Why do you [care] about a boy who should be put in Hitler’s chambers?”
ANHRI collected thousands of signatures supporting referring Kato to trial for his remarks.
