Egyptian writer of sexually explicit novel acquitted of violating public morals

CAIRO – A Cairo court has acquitted an Egyptian writer who had faced a possible jail sentence for publishing sexually explicit material that allegedly violated public morals.

Mahmoud Othman, a lawyer representing author Ahmed Naji, says the writer and Tarek el-Taher, the editor-in-chief of Egypt’s top literary magazine, were acquitted Saturday.

Naji would have faced up to two years in jail and a fine of up to 10,000 Egyptian pounds ($1,245) if found guilty of violating a law against publishing material deemed contrary to public morals.

The prosecution took up the case after an individual filed a lawsuit saying he was harmed by reading an excerpt of Naji’s novel, “The Use of Life,” which was published in Akhbar al-Adab magazine in August 2014.