Nourhan Hefzy, wife of imprisoned blogger and political activist Ahmed Douma, started on Tuesday a sit-in alongside other female activists outside the presidential palace in Heliopolis decrying the Protest Law. Douma was sentenced on 22 December to three years' hard labour and fined EGP 50,000 alongside Ahmed Maher, co-founder of the 6 April Youth Movement and Mohamed Adel, a co-founder and member of 6 April's political bureau. The trio was convicted of protesting without the Ministry of Interior's approval under the controversial Protest Law, rioting, "thuggery", using violence against Abdeen Courthouse security personnel, and possessing melee weapons. Abdeen Misdemeanor Court upheld the conviction on 7 April after a four-month long appeal process. At least eight women spent the night at the sit-in on Tuesday, Hefzy said on her Facebook account, calling for the cancellation of the Protest Law and the release of all those detained under the law. The female only sit-in is scheduled to continue until next Saturday, coinciding with a planned march to the Presidential Palace against the Protest Law. Hefzy also led a sit-in outside the presidential palace on 7 April, right after the verdict against her husband was upheld. The verdict has garnered wide criticism from domestic as well as international bodies. The United States Department of State said it is "deeply troubled" over the court's decision to uphold the trio's prison sentences. The United Kingdom's Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Hugh Robertson also expressed hconcern. Egypt's foreign ministry rejected the condemnation of the verdict, saying,"It is not for the United States or others to accept, reject or comment on a court ruling in Egypt."
