Egyptian Mounir Said Hanna Marzuq has been found guilty of “satire” after a colleague reported him and his poem to the authorities. He has been sentenced to three years and was fined L.E. 100,000 for insulting president Hosni Mubarak.
Zeinobia called on Coptic human rights activist and the lawyer of the orthodox church, Naguib Gabriel and asked:
Where is Naguib Gabriel when you need him?
She also posted a translation of some of the verses that led to the man's downfall:
Shine, shine whom you shine on all of us
Shine, shine whom you shine wherever you go
No one can shine like you shine
You made people feel confused and lost
You made people feel happy and lost
Mounir Said Hanna was hoping that his lines would be turned into a ballad:
ونورد فيما يلي إحدى قصائد منير حنا:
زغلل
زغلل زغلل زغللنى ياللى حبك جننى
زغلل زغلل زغللهم ياللى شكلك جننهم
كورال
زغلل زغلل يا مزغلل زغلل ع الكل خليت الدنيا حلوى وفل الفل
١- المرايا بتزغلل على واحد بس ولكن انت يا مزغلل زغللت الكل
٢- فلاش الكاميرا بيزغلل قبل الصورة ولكن انت يا مزغلل صوت وصورة
٣- زغلل زغلل يا مزغلل منين ماتروح بتخلى الدنيا حلوة وفيها روح
٤- زغلل زغلل يا مزغلل زغلل وقول مش أى حد ينفع يبقى زغلول
٥- اوعى تبطل تزغلل يا واد يا زغلول خليت الدنيا حلوة والفرح يطول
٦- زغلل زغلل ع الليلة وع الحاضرين خليت الناس فى حيرة وكمان تايهين
٧- زغلل زغلل ع الحفلة وع الحاضرين خليت الناس فى غفلة وكمان تايهين
٨- زغلل زغلل ع الفرح وع الحاضرين خليت الناس فى مرح وكمان تايهين
Zeinobia jotted down her frustration saying:
I am so angry for those who reported Mounir to the authorities !! Are we living the Nasserite era with reports writing again !!??
I wonder where are the human rights organizations in Egypt ?? Is not this an attack on freedom of expression ??
What did Mounir do for all that ??? So what if he mocks Mubarak !!?? Mubarak is not a God , he is just a president.
I wonder where is the Church from all this ??? Or now we are a secular country !!?
Speaking of the Church, Al Mowaten blogged it's reaction saying:
وأكد نجيب جبرائيل مستشار البابا شنودة للشؤون القانونية بأن المواطن لم يكن يقصد إهانة مبارك وأن ما قام به عمل أدبي لا يمكن التعامل معه على نحو غير ذلك.
Naguib Gabriel insisted that the man did not mean to insult Mubarak and what he wrote is a literary work that cannot be regarded otherwise.
Save Egypt Front posted the beginning of the story:
Furthermore:
The sentence has been appealed and the final verdict will be pronounced on July 18, 2009.
6 comments
Is not a criminal
Poetry is powerful, it can bring down a government. I send my solidarity to Marzuk.
In hope.
You arrest a man just because of his views and how he feels about his President!! this is Not Democracy.
If i want to criticise my president i have the right too…Do not forget that, it is the people that elect him.
But that happen in a real democratic free country.
May God be with Marzuk and i hope he will continue to write his poems.