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Egyptian court upholds prison terms for 3 activists

Xinhua, January 28, 2015 Adjust font size:

Egypt's cassation court on Tuesday upheld three-year prison terms against three renowned political activists for holding unlawful protests, state-run news agency MENA reported.

Activists Ahmed Maher, Ahmed Doma and Mohamed Adel have also been fined 50,000 pounds each on charges of attacking police guarding a court in Cairo downtown as well as breaking the country's controversial protest law in 2013.

On Dec. 22, 2013, the three activists were sentenced to three years in prison and fined 50,000 Egyptian pounds (about 6,900 U.S. dollars) for their participation in pro-democracy protests illegally under the new protest law.

They appealed the ruling, but it was turned down on Tuesday by the Cassation Court verdict.

This judgment is final and cannot be appealed by the defendants.

Maher and Adel are co-founders of the April 6 youth movement which played a key role in mobilizing support for the 2011 uprising that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak.

An Egyptian court outlawed the group in April last year over charges of espionage and tainting the image of the country.

Douma, a prominent youth activist and blogger, was arrested under every consecutive Egyptian government in recent years for his pro-democracy stances.

The man was one of the upstanding critics of Mubarak and a leading figure during the protests that unseated the former Egyptian leader four years ago.

He also mobilized national protests that toppled Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July, 2013.

The Egyptian judiciary is criticized by many international human rights organizations and local opposition groups of politicizing its rulings in favor of the current pro-army government.

However, the government says it has no influence over Egypt's justice system.

Many of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood members and secular activists are in prison awaiting trials relating to inciting violence, conspiring with foreign powers to destabilize Egypt and killing protesters, some of which carry the death penalty.

Dozens of Brotherhood members, including the group's leading figures, have been sentenced to death over violence charges. Endit