Egyptian military court jails 104 pro-democracy activists

An Egyptian military court yesterday sentenced 104 opponents to 25 years in prison on charges dating back to 2013, lawyers said.

The Assiut military court also sentenced 36 defendants to five to seven years in jail, the sources said.

Lawyers Khaled Komi, Alaa Tawfiq Mohammed and Samir El-Farra told the Anadolu Agency that 70 pro-democracy activists were sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia, 14 others were handed jail terms of seven years. One defendant was acquitted.

The lawyers said the same court sentenced 54 opponents – 34 in absentia – to life in prison. Twenty others received jail terms of five years.

Egypt’s late Attorney General Hisham Barakat referred the defendants to a military court in March 2015 on charges of belonging to a banned group, storming public and government buildings and incitement to violence.