Egyptian lawyer sentenced to jail over rape remarks

An Egyptian lawyer has been sentenced to three years in jail for saying that girls who wear revealing clothes should be raped

An Egyptian lawyer has been sentences to three years in prison for saying that it’s a national duty to rape girls who wear revealing clothes.

Nabih al-Wahsh, a prominent conservative, was also fined 20,000 Egyptian pounds (£839).

The lawyer made the remarks on a TV panel show in October, during a debate on a draft law on prostitution.

"I say that when a girl walks about like that, it is a patriotic duty to sexually harass her and a national duty to rape her," he said.

The prosecutor brought charges against Wahsh after a public outcry. The National Council for Women's Rights had condemned the remarks, saying they were a "flagrant call" for rape, in violation of "everything in the Egyptian constitution".

The council has now filed a complaint about the statement to the Supreme Council for Media Regulation about the broadcast which aired on 19 October.

Wahsh has previously called the Holocaust "imaginary" and declared himself a proud anti-Semite. He was also involved in a TV studio brawl with a cleric, after the cleric said women should not have to wear a headscarf.