An Egyptian court on Monday sentenced prominent political activist Alaa Abdel Fattah to five years in prison on charges of joining a terrorist group and spreading false news.
The Emergency State Security Misdemeanor Court also slapped lawyer Mohamed El-Baqer and blogger Mohamed Oxygen with a four-year jail term each, state-run Al-Ahram newspaper said.
The court also slapped Abdel-Fattah with a fine of 200,000 pounds ($13,000).
Prosecutors accused the three of spreading fake news and joining a terrorist group that seeks to suspend the constitution and laws, and prevent state institutions from carrying out their duties.
In November, Egypt’s Court of Cassation upheld a ruling to place Abdel-Fattah, El-Baqer, and 26 others on the country’s terrorism list for a five-year period.
On Friday, the German Foreign Ministry called on Egyptian authorities to carry out a fair trial for the three Egyptian activists.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry issued a harsh statement in response, accusing Berlin of meddling in Egypt’s internal affairs./aa