Egypt slaps son of Muslim scholar with 3 years in jail

By Mustafa Eid

CAIRO (AA) - An Egyptian court on Monday slapped poet and writer Abdel-Rahman Yusuf, son of Yusuf al-Qaradawi, head of the Qatar-based International Union of Muslim Scholars, with three years in jail, according to a local judicial source.

The source, who preferred anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to media, told Anadolu Agency that al-Qaradawi’s son had been convicted of "spreading false news and threatening Egypt’s security".

The court’s verdict, the source added, was "a preliminary one" and still subject to appeal.

Explaining its sentence, the court asserted that Yusuf had "incited the public against [Egyptian] state institutions on his television program of July 21 on the Al-Watan channel, which broadcasts from outside of Egypt".

Yusuf, the court added, had also called for a "revolution" against Egypt’s current governing authorities.

The prominent Muslim scholar’s son has also been charged -- along with former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and 23 others -- of "insulting Egypt’s judiciary".