Misr El Adima Misdemeanor Court sentenced TV host Islam El Behery to 5 years in prison late Saturday, over defamation of religion charges, Youm7 news reported. Egyptian lawyers sued the TV host for insulting the Islamic religion and the companions of Prophet Muhammad, according to them. Behery denied the accusations on several occasions, affirming that he was seeking to uphold a moderate approach to Islam and refute extremist thoughts. Al Azhar, the highest Sunni institute in Egypt, attacked Behery accusing him of spreading subversive ideas about the Muslims faith. Behery has been given the highest punishment according to the Egyptian penal code, as article 98 stipulates a period of confinement "not less than six months and not exceeding five years". Abdel Mone'm Fouad, a professor of Al Azhar University, commented on Behery's sentence saying Al Azhar didn't want to put him in jail, they only sued the TV channel to take the program off the air because of the false information it was spreading about Islam. Al Kahera Wal Nas channel shut down the show on April 22, over Al Azhar's lawsuit.
