After the green light given by the Grand Mufti of Egypt, Cairo’s Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the death sentences of seven Egyptian citizens involved in the film ‘Innocence of Muslims’, whose trailer caused deadly unrest throughout the Arab world in September. A co-defendant, US Pastor Terry Jones, was sentenced to five years in prison.
The seven, all Coptic Christians who reside in the US, were found guilty of insulting Islam and threatening national unity.
Among them is Nikolas Bassili, who directed the film that sparked the fatal protests. In Cairo, protesters scaled the walls of the US embassy and ripped the Stars and Stripes off the flagpole at the center of the compound.
And yet both Obama and John McCain wish to continue to fund and arm Egypt.