1 year in prison for dressing donkey like General Sisi

Daily Mail

The law is an ass! Farmer is jailed for a year in Egypt after naming his donkey after country's former military chief

April 1, 2014

Simon Tomlinson

An Egyptian farmer has been jailed for a year for naming his donkey after the country's former military chief who is running for president.

Omar Abul Maged was accused of 'humiliating the military' for calling his animal Sisi after Abdel Fatah al-Sisi who led the overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

Maged, 31, put a military-style cap on his donkey, covered it with a poster of al-Sisi and rode it through his village in protest against the decision to oust Morsi last summer.

Andalus Center for Tolerance and Anti-Violence Studies told the Egypt Independent that it 'raises doubts about the fairness of the judiciary system in Egypt'.

The conviction comes after the judiciary last week sentenced 529 pro-Morsi Muslim Brotherhood defendants to death in a massive crackdown on government dissenters.

The electoral commission announced on Sunday that Egypt's presidential election will be held in late May, finally setting dates for the crucial vote widely expected to be won by al-Sisi.

The commission set the first round of voting for May 26 and 27, with results expected by June 5.
If a second round is necessary it will be held by mid-month with results announced no later than June 26, the commission said.

Al-Sisi sparked protests after announcing his bid for office, but is widely expected to win.
His victory would restore a tradition of presidents from military backgrounds that Egypt had for all but one year since 1952, when officers overthrew the monarchy and became the dominant force in politics.