CAIRO: Two Cairo courts have convicted and sentenced to five years in jail a total of 152 protesters for taking part in demonstrations last month, judicial officials and lawyers said on Sunday.
They said the 101 were convicted of breaking a disputed 2013 law that effectively bans street protests. Of them, 79 were fined 100,000 pounds (about $10,000) each and 54 were convicted and sentenced in absentia.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.
The sentences were passed late Saturday, hours after another Cairo court sentenced another 51 protesters to two years in jail for their part in last month’s demonstrations.
A massive police deployment on April 25 checked the planned demonstrations, prompting activists to stage small, flash protests in various parts of the capital. More than 1,200 arrests were made in the run-up to April 25 and on the day.
Most of them have been released but nearly 300 faced formal charges and were referred to trial for breaking the protest law.
President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi says he has to balance safeguarding rights with his government’s fight against a resilient insurgency by Daesh militants in Sinai and efforts to revive the economy.
He has repeatedly insisted that Egypt’s human rights record must not be judged by western standards.
They said the 101 were convicted of breaking a disputed 2013 law that effectively bans street protests. Of them, 79 were fined 100,000 pounds (about $10,000) each and 54 were convicted and sentenced in absentia.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.
The sentences were passed late Saturday, hours after another Cairo court sentenced another 51 protesters to two years in jail for their part in last month’s demonstrations.
A massive police deployment on April 25 checked the planned demonstrations, prompting activists to stage small, flash protests in various parts of the capital. More than 1,200 arrests were made in the run-up to April 25 and on the day.
Most of them have been released but nearly 300 faced formal charges and were referred to trial for breaking the protest law.
President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi says he has to balance safeguarding rights with his government’s fight against a resilient insurgency by Daesh militants in Sinai and efforts to revive the economy.
He has repeatedly insisted that Egypt’s human rights record must not be judged by western standards.
