Guwahati News Desk: After being tried on charges of spreading fake news, leading Egyptian activist, Alaa Abdel Fattah, was sentenced to five years in prison on Monday by a special court in Cairo.
Before the hearing, Fattah’s mother Leila Soueif said, “He is denied access to books, a radio, a watch, and he is banned from walking (outside his prison cell). He does not leave his prison cell at all except of when we visit him or if he is going to prosecution or court.”
Along with Fattah being sentenced, even blogger Mohamed Ibrahim and lawyer Mohamed El-Baqer, who faced the same charges, were sentenced to four years in jail.
According to reports, the three have been detained since September 2019.
Regarding Fattah, he is a political activist and computer programmer. He is often described as the “icon of the 2011 revolution” that ousted President Hosni Mubarak from power.
In addition, Fattah has already been convicted several times. He was imprisoned under Hosni Mubarak (1981-2011), his Islamist successor Mohamed Morsi (2012-2013) and the current head of state Abdel Fattah al-Sissi. He was further arrested in 2013 after an unauthorised demonstration.
Moreover, since 2013 he has spent a total of seven years behind bars.
However, referring to the recent sentences made, the US State Department spokesperson Ned Price stated that Washington was “disappointed” by the verdicts and that journalists and human rights defenders should be able to exercise their freedom of expression without facing criminal penalties.