Americans Tried in absentia

For John, BLUF:  Egypt moves to reduce the blight of Western Tourism.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

Blogger and Law Professor Ann Althouse links to a story on an Egyptian Court trying in absentia the people involved in the production of the YouTube Innocence of Muslims,♠ plus Pastor Terry Jones.  The outcome was to convict them and sentence them to death for their recent activities.  The Professor noted at the end of the post "It's late autumn in the Arab spring".

Here is the USA Today story.

Columnist Mark Steyn gives a view from upper New Hampshire.  He notes that two and a half months on, NBC News still thinks there was a video induced demonstration in Benghazi.

Back to the Althouse blog, at 3:07 PM on the 29th a Commenter named "Partridge" said...

Ann, I have avoided getting on here but once again I cannot help myself.  As someone who knows courts in general, and Egyptian courts in particular, I have to say the real issue is not whether the decision happened but whether it is upheld on appeal.  District courts in America (and especially small local courts) also rule absurdly sometimes.

Without more information about which court this was, the charges, or the judge involved, this means nothing.

Before I thought it through I thought the proper response was a US law criminalizing actions that violated our First Amendment, with the right to try in absentia, with punishment being imprisonment in a gender neutral facility.  But, "Partridge" is correct.  We need to see how this sorts out on appeal.  But, Professor Althouse's comment "It's late autumn in the Arab spring" suggests we would benefit from further analysis of the situation.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  The article describes the article thusly:  "... sentencing them to death on charges linked to an anti-Islam film that had sparked riots in parts of the Muslim world."  It would be possible to describe the video as being pro-Coptic or to describe it as explaining the problems facing Egyptian Copts and the evil behind those problems.