Egyptian Appeals Court Imposes Jail Sentence On Teacher For Allegedly Insulting Islam

In Egypt on Sunday, a appellate court sentenced a 23-year old Coptic Christian elementary school teacher to 6 months in jail for insulting Islam.  According to Arutz Sheva, the head of the parents' association at a Luxor school filed a complaint last May against teacher Demiana Emad claiming that she told her students that the late Coptic pope Shenuda III was better than the Prophet Mohammed. However an Egyptian civil rights group says she only presented a lesson in comparative religion. A trial court had imposed a fine equivalent to approximately $14,000 (US) on the teacher.  Both she and the state appealed, and the appellate court imposed the heavier sentence. Apparently an additional appeal can still be filed.