Update: Man sentenced to 6 months in prison for standing naked in balcony

A man was sentenced to 6 months in prison on Wednesday after neighbors accused him of standing naked and sexually harassing women from his balcony during the holy month of Ramadan.

The privately owned Infrrad news portal reported on Tuesday that several female neighbors had filed a complaint at the local police station about the man's behavior. One woman told the newspaper that his nudity had kept her from being able to sit in her balcony or keep her blinds open, and that she had repeatedly sent her husband to complain to the man's family about his indecency. 

The man, who resides in the north Cairo district of Hadayek al-Qubba and is identified as Osama A. in local media, dismissed these charges as “lies.”

“I do sometimes step outside in the balcony in an undershirt and shorts, because the weather is very hot sometimes,” he told Infrrad. He denied that he has ever stood naked or sexually harassed women from his balcony.

Prosecutors referred him to trial reportedly after hearing testimonies from his female neighbors. The defendant faces charges of violating Article 278 of Egypt’s Penal Code, which stipulates that, “whoever commits in public a scandalous or immodest act shall be punished with detention for a period not exceeding one year, or a fine not exceeding LE300.”

"The proceedings depend on neighbors' testimonies, as well as the structure of the balcony itself,” Adel Ramadan, a lawyer at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, told Mada Masr.

Egypt’s highest appeals court, the Court of Cassation, previously ruled that if a passerby can clearly witness a person committing an act of public indecency from the street, they may be sentenced, Ramadan explained. “However, the prosecution would have to provide witnesses to verify these claims against the defendant,” he said.

The lawyer continued, “The prosecution would also have to prove that the balcony was constructed in a way that would allow the man to be easily spotted from the street. If the balcony is built in a way whereby you can only see the top half of the man without his shirt, for example, it is not an act of public indecency."

Ramadan went on to clarify, “If it is difficult to see the man naked while he is standing on his balcony from the street, then the man may file a counter-claim against his neighbors for spying on him and violating his privacy.”

Infrrad reported that the defendant had only officially been charged with public nudity and indecency, not sexual harrassment. “If charged with harassment, the prosecution would have to provide witness testimonies as well," Ramadan added.