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Egypt court suspends YouTube over anti-Islam film

CAIRO | Sat Feb 9, 2013 10:42am EST

CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian court ordered the suspension of online video service YouTube for a month on Saturday for broadcasting a film insulting the Prophet Mohammad, state media reported.

The country's administrative court ordered the ministries of communication and investment to block YouTube, owned by Google, inside Egypt because it had carried the film "Innocence of Muslims," said state news agency MENA.

The 13-minute video, billed as a film trailer and made in the United States, provoked a torrent of anti-American unrest in Egypt, Libya and dozens of other Muslim countries in September.

The video depicts the Prophet as a fool and a sexual deviant. For most Muslims, any portrayal of the Prophet is considered blasphemous.

The court said it was ruling on a case brought about the film several months ago, without going into further detail.

YouTube had "insisted on broadcasting the film insulting Islam and the Prophet, disrespecting the beliefs of millions of Egyptians and disregarding the anger of all Muslims" the court said, according to MENA.

Egypt's National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority said it would abide by the ruling as soon as it received a copy of the verdict.

Maha Abouelenein, a Google spokeswoman in Cairo, said the company had yet to receive any formal notification of the ruling.

(Additional reporting by Kevin Gray; Writing by Marwa Awad; Editing by Doina Chiacu)

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Comments (7)
So google can cooperate with America with regards to security and other affairs yet cannot cooperate with the Muslims, typical corporation being an arm of the state.

Feb 09, 2013 8:00am EST  --  Report as abuse
amos033 wrote:
That’s one way to quell egyptian protests against the Pharoah of Egypt.

Feb 09, 2013 8:11am EST  --  Report as abuse
Burns0011 wrote:
This is the fundamental disconnect between a country and culture which respects and guarantees the basic natural right of free speech, and a country and culture which often censors or censors by omission, and doesn’t respect and guarantee the basic natural right of free speech.

Feb 09, 2013 3:46pm EST  --  Report as abuse
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