“The court said that the (Communication and Information Technology) ministry must block these websites which are offensive to our religion, honour and manners,” Nizar Ghorab said.<\/p>\n
Ghorab, who filed the suit on his own initiative, said that the recent case of a man and his wife who were sentenced to prison for setting up a swingers club through the Internet “highlights the dangers posed by such offensive websites.”<\/p>\n
He said he hoped the ministry would not appeal such a decision “which has nothing to do with personal freedom. If freedom harms others, it is no longer a freedom,” he said.<\/p>\n
Judge Mohammed Attiya told the court that “freedoms and public rights are not absolute, they are limited by the respect … of the family which is the base of the society,” according to the ruling which was published by state news agency MENA.<\/p>\n
When contacted by AFP, the ministry had not heard about the decision.<\/p>\n
Egypt has over 12 million Internet users, according to 2007 government figures.<\/p>\n
Egypt has in the past blocked political opposition websites, but access to pornographic sites remains reportedly unrestricted in the conservative nation.<\/p>\n