News / Egypt

Egypt sentences prominent activist to 5 years behind bars

Monday, 23 February 2015 11:32 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 23 February 2015 11:32 AM ]

Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah (©AP)

A court in Egypt has sentenced prominent activist Alaa Abdel Fattah to five years in jail.

On Monday, the court sentenced Abdel Fattah and 24 others to prison for what is called organizing an illegal protest in November 2014 outside the parliament in the capital, Cairo.

The other defendants in the case received sentences ranging from three to 15 years.

Abdel-Fattah was a leading figure in the 2011 uprising against former dictator Hosni Mubarak that led to the election of Egypt’s first democratically-elected president, Mohammed Morsi, who was subsequently ousted in a coup led by the military.

He was sentenced to 15 years in jail immediately after his arrest, but the verdict was later dismissed by an appeals court.

Three defendants received 15 years in prison because they did not attend the court. The rest were sentenced to three years and all were ordered to pay a fine of about USD 13,000 (100,000 pounds) each.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who overthrew Morsi in a military coup in July 2013, has been cracking down on any opposition over the last year.

The sentences came as the president had said on Sunday that he would soon free “youths” wrongfully detained in the crackdown.

Rights groups say the army’s clampdown has led to the deaths of over 1,400 people and the arrest of 22,000 others, including some 200 people who have been sentenced to death in mass trials.

The UN Human Rights Council has repeatedly expressed concern over the Egyptian security forces’ heavy-handed crackdown and the killing of anti-government protesters in Egypt.

MAK/NN/HRB

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