Ahmed Naji to be freed from jail, but will face court again in January

The Egyptian novelist convicted of ‘violating public modesty’ has had his sentence suspended, pending another hearing next month

Egyptian author Ahmed Naji is to be released from prison, after Egypt’s highest appeals court suspended his two-year sentence for “violating public modesty” with his novel The Use of Life.

Naji was charged in 2015 after an excerpt of the book was published in the state-owned magazine Akhbar al-Adab. The passage contained references to sex and drug use, and a complainant alleged that reading the passage gave them “heart palpitations, sickness, and a drop in blood pressure”.

Naji's lawyer Mahmoud Osman - the paperwork is through, Naji should be out tomorrow. #FreeNaji #Enough https://t.co/roxvCV12iP

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