Egyptian comedian and actor Adel Imam does not fear for freedom of expression under Islamist President-elect Mohamed Morsi, he told CNN Arabic Thursday.
Imam emphasised the importance of respecting the ballot box and stressed that artists, including himself, would not flee the country as a result of Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi's presidential election victory – "Egypt wouldn't let us," he said.
He said he was not working on any freedom of expression initiatives as there was nothing to worry about in that area.
Imam said his appeal in the case filed against him for allegedly offending Islam would be heard on 4 July.
"I don't expect anything [regarding the verdict] as I do not worry about myself or art, which has been engraved in Egypt's roots since Pharaonic times," he said.
He also said he did not expect any changes to laws regarding freedom of expression, and that he had met with members of the Brotherhood who support him.
The comedian said he had almost finished shooting his Ramadan series Nagy Atallah Squad with only ten days left of shooting, after which he would be taking a break to relax before taking on new projects.
An Egyptian court sentenced Adel Imam to three months in jail in absentia in May for "offending Islam" in some of his films. He was released on bail of LE100.
The case against Imam was filed by Asran Mansour who accused the actor of offending Islam and its symbols, including the galabiya – a loose fitting garment worn by some Muslims – and beards in his films Morgan Ahmed Morgan, Al-Erhaby (The Terrorist) and Hassan and Morkos and the play Al-Zaeem (The Leader).
