Egyptian court imposes a month-long YouTube block

The Egyptian court has ruled that YouTube must be blocked for a month for offering the film Innocence of Muslims. This would be offensive to the Prophet Muhammad and therefore the punishment should be imposed.

Mohamed Hamid Salem, the lawyer who initiated the case in Egypt, has confirmed this to Reuters news agency. With the ruling, the Egyptian court confirms one of a lower court. However, the Egyptian government appealed the ruling. The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology said at the time that it cannot block YouTube without blocking the rest of Google’s infrastructure as well.

YouTube is sentenced in Egypt for offering the film Innocence of Muslims. Because in the thirteen-minute film the prophet Mohammed is insulted, you are not allowed to surf to YouTube from Egypt for a month. The decision can no longer be appealed. The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology has not yet commented on the matter.