Friday March 29th, 2024
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Rolling Stone Features Egyptian Novelist Ahmed Nagi After His Release from Prison

The Egyptian novelist spent six months in prison for "obscenity" after a chapter of his novel depicting sexual fetishes was published in a major newspaper.

Staff Writer

After a public trial that was condemned by artistic communities and human rights defenders around the world, Ahmed Nagi, the Egyptian novelist who was convicted of "violating public morality," was released last December after serving a 6-month prison sentence. Rolling Stone, the world's leading pop culture magazine, sat down with Nagi as he revealed the trauma he experienced after his imprisonment.

The novelist was first arrested in 2014, initially sentenced to two years in prison. His sentence got reduced to six months last July, and he was released in December. The arrest was made on charges of obscenity after a review of his novel, The Use of Life, was published in government-leaning magazine, Akhbar al-Adab, in August 2014. The published review included a chapter of the book where he depicted sexual fetishes and drug use in a literary style. Two months ahead of the final ruling in July, Nagi was awarded PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award while still in prison. 

The article goes over the trial, his time in a prison, and his new obsession with self-censorship. Nagi says,"When you are writing, you are thinking… someone will read something or this could affect the case and so on. It's hard to move on and write."

Check out the whole Rolling Stone's feature here