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February 23, 2015

Leading Egyptian Activist Sentenced to 5 Years for Challenging Draconian Anti-Protest Law 
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One of the leading activists in Egypt's 2011 revolution has been
sentenced to five years in prison. Alaa Abd El-Fattah received the term
in a retrial following an original sentence of 15 years. He was accused
of inciting a 2013 protest that broke a law barring public gatherings
without government approval. El-Fattah has been imprisoned multiple
times since playing a key role in the protests that toppled Hosni
Mubarak four years ago, missing the birth of his child and, more
recently, the death of his father. As the verdict was read today,
El-Fattah's family and friends wept in the courtroom and shouted, "Down
with military rule."

 

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