Coptic businessman on trial over cartoon

[Mosby]

The Central Cairo Prosecution has referred Coptic businessman Naguib Sawiris to trial over charges of defamation of religion.

In June, Sawiris posted a picture depicting Mickey Mouse wearing a beard and Minnie Mouse wearing a face veil on his Twitter account, a cartoon that many Muslims considered offensive.

Sawiris later apologized for posting the cartoon, however, his apology did not manage to calm the anger of Salafis who filed a report accusing him of defaming religion.

Salafi groups also launched a one-month campaign to boycott companies that Sawiris owns or is a partner in, such as Mobinil and Al-Masry Al-Youm, causing heavy losses, particularly for his mobile phone company.

http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/591651