Egypt has jailed chief activist Alaa Abdel Fattah for five years Human Rights News

Egypt has sentenced Abdel Fattah, the main figure in the 2011 revolution, to prison along with two others for “fake news”.

Famous Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah has been sentenced to five years in prison after being tried for allegedly spreading false news by his sister and a judicial source.

Blogger Mohamed “Oxygen” Ibrahim and lawyer Mohamed El-Baqer, facing the same charges, were sentenced to four years in prison.

“Alaa was sentenced to five years in prison, Baqerri to four years and Mohamed Oxygen to four years,” his sister Mona Seif said on Twitter.

“The judge was too cowardly to inform us, too,” he said after the verdict in the capital’s State Security Court.

A judicial source, on condition of anonymity, confirmed the verdict and verdict to the AFP news agency.

Court decisions cannot be appealed. They need the final approval of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

All three have been in custody since September 2019. Abdel Fattah, a former Hosni Mubarak president after three decades in power, the main activist in the 2011 uprising, was imprisoned for five years.

Abdel Fattah’s family has complained about the conditions of his arrest.

“They deny him books, a radio, a watch, and he is forbidden to walk (out of prison). Under no circumstances will he leave his prison cell when we visit him or go to the prosecution or court, ”said Abila Fattah’s mother, Leila Soueif, before the hearing.

Since the ousting of President of the Muslim Brotherhood el-Sisi Mohamed Morsi since 2013, there has been widespread repression of political dissent in Egypt, sparked by criticism from human rights groups. Rights groups say they have jailed tens of thousands of people.

El-Sisi, the president since 2014, says security and stability are key and denies that there are political prisoners in Egypt.