The lawyer representing blogger Hadeer Abdel Razek has filed a formal petition with Egypt’s Parliament. He demands removal of a controversial phrase from the IT crimes law. This follows confirmation of her one-year prison term for alleged assault on family values.
Numbered 22232 for 2025, the petition attacks Article 25 of Law No. 175 of 2018. Specifically, the wording: “assault on principles or family values in Egyptian society.” Vague, broad; it defies legal clarity.
Hadeer Abdel Razek stood accused of immorality. Appeals court dismissed her defense, upheld the original sentence.
The memo argues this shifts justice toward moral guardianship. Targets young creators; crushes expression, harms economy, tourism, Egypt’s global standing. “Family values” morph with personal tastes, enable arbitrary enforcement, online mob justice.
Modern Egyptian ethos drew from cinema, theater, music, state broadcaster Maspero. Open, varied. Since the 1970s, stern preaching under “awakening” labels swapped law for flexible moral codes.
Chilling effect drives talent abroad, to stable legal havens.
Rooted in constitution: Article 95 demands precision; Article 67 protects creativity. Liberty-stripping penalties for art? Only for inciting violence, discrimination, slander.
Propose swaps: “family values” for exact terms like violence promotion, hate speech, privacy invasion, child harm. Alert to regressive forces eroding Egypt’s secular core.
In a law-bound state, values emerge not as dictates. They grow through education, media, culture. Art, stage, screen, broadcast forged Egypt’s modern identity, its soft influence; no room for ethical oversight that risks civic essence.
