Two defendants in the ‘Shura Council Trial' were sentenced to three years in prison and with a fine of EGP 100,000 in a retrial Monday after initially being sentenced to 15 years in prison in absentia. The convicted Abdelrahman Sayed and Abdelrahman Tarek, along with other 23 convicted including prominent political activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, were charged with assaulting security forces, unlicensed protesting and rioting. Rights lawyer at the Egyptian Centre for Economic and Social Rights (ESCR) Mahmoud Belal told Daily News Egypt that the two were retried as they were arrested after the initial verdict. The case dates back to November 2013, when a group of activists protested in front of the Shura Council against an article in the constitutional draft issued by the former interim government that stipulates the referral of civilians to military courts. The protest was violently dispersed, several activists were arrested and a case was filed against a group of activists on charges of assaulting police officers and unlicensed protesting. All 25 defendants were initially sentenced to 15 years in prison in absentia in June 2014, in addition to an EGP 100,000 fine. In February 2015, the Cairo Criminal Court sentenced Abdel Fattah to five years in prison, in addition to an EGP 100,000 fine. Defendant Ahmed Abdel Rahman received the same sentence as Abdel Fattah, with 18 other defendants receiving sentences between three and five years in prison.Four other defendants, Tarek and Sayed among them, received 15 years in absentia.
