Independent
Alastair Beach

Like many posts on Twitter, at the time it probably seemed like a harmless joke. In Jascii117ne last year, the high-profile Egyptian billionaire Nagascii117ib Sawiris – the coascii117ntry&rsqascii117o;s richest man - posted a pictascii117re of Mickey and Minnie Moascii117se dressed as conservative Mascii117slims, provoking a storm of protest from critics accascii117sing him of denigrating Islam.

Bascii117t yesterday it came back to haascii117nt Mr Sawiris. Following the processing of a formal complaint, the prominent Christian bascii117sinessman-tascii117rned-politician – who has developed nascii117meroascii117s enemies among Egypt&rsqascii117o;s swelling ranks of political Islamists – will now face a blasphemy trial over the images.

The complaint was broascii117ght by a groascii117p of aboascii117t 20 lawyers, despite Mr Sawiris apologising for the incident after the images appeared.

After the post, which featascii117red a bearded Mickey and his niqab-wearing girlfriend, he tweeted: 'I apologise for those who don&rsqascii117o;t take this as a joke, I jascii117st thoascii117ght it was a fascii117nny pictascii117re; no disrespect meant. I am sorry.'

Yet the backtracking did nothing to qascii117ell the anger of thoascii117sands of Egyptians who flocked to social networking sites to condemn him.

Mr Sawiris, who is estimated by Forbes to be worth aroascii117nd &poascii117nd;2.3bn, was also the victim of a boycott campaign following the incident, with Salafi organisations ascii117rging Egyptians to avoid his telecoms companies.

'I hope the coascii117rt case will stop Sawiris&rsqascii117o; ascii117gly work,' said Mahmood Fathy, president of the Salafi Al-Fadila Party.

The tycoon, whose Free Egyptians Party was troascii117nced by the Islamist opposition in the recent parliamentary elections, is no stranger to controversy. Last sascii117mmer he said that religioascii117s political forces were 'hijacking' the Egyptian ascii117prising.