Egyptian court sentences 101 Morsi supporters to 3 years in prison

An Egyptian court has sentenced 101 opponents of the July 3 military coup to three years in prison after convicting them on Sunday of violence in the Nile Delta town of Damietta, Egyptian TV has reported.

The defendants were convicted of committing acts of violence in 2013, which injured 18 people. The court acquitted 17 other defendants; all of them are minors.

The Egyptian judiciary has been criticised widely for being used as a tool for repression in the aftermath of the July 3 military coup against freely-elected President Mohamed Morsi.

On Sunday, the Egyptian Court of Cassation acquitted Morsi’s Prime Minister Hesham Qandil after accepting his appeal against a jail sentence he received on charges of failing to implement a court ruling during his term in office.