Egyptian court jails former PM to 5 years

An Egyptian court has sentenced former Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif to five year in prison during a retrial for charges of graft during his time in office, Anadolu agency has reported.

Nazif had previously been sentenced to three years imprisonment for his role in the Mubarak regime. He appealed against that verdict, which led to the recent retrial and current sentence.

Two of Nazif’s sons, also facing re-trial on graft charges on Wednesday, were ordered to pay fines, sources said.

The court also fined Nazif 53.6 million Egyptian pounds ($6.8 million) and ordered him to repay 48.6 million pounds immediately ($6.2 million).

Nazif served as prime minister from July 2004 until January 2011, when a popular uprising swept Hosni Mubarak from power.

Despite not knowing much about the details of the trial, monitors believed it to be motivated by political reasons. Most of Mubarak-era figures have been cleared of charges in recent months.

Nazif had been acquitted on separate graft charges alongside Mubarak’s former interior minister Habib El-Adly in February, Reuters reported.