Suspended prison sentence against activist Alaa Abdel Fattah upheld

The prominent activist and twelve others were sentenced on charges of torching presidential candidate's campaign headquarters

The Court of Cassation rejected an appeal from political activist Alaa Abdel Fattah's defence team against his suspended one year prison sentence.
Abdel Fattah had been charged with and given the suspended sentence for allegedly participating in the torching of ex-presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq's campaign headquarters.
The court upheld the sentence that was contested by the lawyers, who claimed it was driven by the National Security Agency's reports and that the verdict was misled.
The case dates back to May 2012, when the campaign headquarters were stormed then torched, against the background of the rejection of Mubarak-era figures' participation in politics after the 25 January Revolution. Shafiq was Mubarak's last Prime Minister, and had held the position during the 2011 uprising.
Abdel Fattah, an icon of the 25 January Revolution, was sentenced along with 11 others in the case, although Shafiq dropped the case. The Giza Criminal Court had convicted them at the time of demonstrating power and on charges of violence.
The blogger and activist is in prison serving a five-year prison sentence, and faces an additional EGP 100,000 fine handed to him in February over assaulting the police and illegal protesting in the Shura Council case.
Abdel Fattah was initially handed a 15-year sentence in absentia in June.
The case dates back to a peaceful demonstration in front of the Shura Council dispersed by security forces on 26 November 2011. The demonstration was against the then draft constitution which allowed the military trial of civilians.