An Egyptian Islamist preacher and his son were given suspended jail sentences on Sunday for insulting religion and burning the Bible.
While Ahmed Abdullah alias Abu Islam was awarded 11 years' suspended jail term and fined LE3,000, his son Islam was given eight years in prison pending appeal by an Egyptian misdemeanors court, the AhramOnline reported.
Abu Islam is the head of two Islamic satellite TV channels - the Umma and Mariya.
During a September 11, 2012 demonstration in front the U.S. Embassy in Cairo protesting the anti-Islam film "Innocence of Muslims," the Muslim cleric publicly burned copies of the Bible. Before leaving the demonstration, he told the crowd that he would later send his grandson to urinate on the Bible.
Amnesty International has expressed concern over the increasing number of charges for blasphemy and insulting religion in Egypt. The London-based rights group said majority of those targeted by such accusations in Egypt were Coptic Christians, who constitute ten per cent of the country's population.
Egypt's Prosecutor-General in February last had ordered Abu Islam's arrest for allegedly insulting Christianity.
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