Final Verdict on Prominent Activist Alaa Abdel Fattah Confirming 5 Years Imprisonment in ‘Shura Council’ Events

The Court of Cassation has issued, on Wednesday, a final verdict ruling that Egyptian Activist Alaa Abdel Fattah stays in prison until the end of the 5-year imprisonment sentence in ‘Shura Council’ events, altering wording.

The wording changed from Segn – an imprisonment equal to 12 months to Habs – an imprisonment period equal to 9 months. Lawyer Mokhtar Mounir told Mada Masr that this definition was not applied with political prisoners such as Ahmed Maher and Mohammed Adel, who serve a term of imprisonment of 12 months.

Abdel Fattah served three and a half years; he is to spend 1.5 years in addition to another 5 years of probation and a fine worth of EGP 100,000.

All the defendants in this case, except Alaa Abd al-Fattah, received a presidential pardon from which they were released.

Abdel Fattah is charged with organizing a demonstration without a license before the Shura Council in November 2013, provoking riots, assaulting police officers, blocking roads, gathering public property.

The ’25 Days’ to #FreeAlaa is a campaign that has been launched to call for the urgent release of Abdel Fattah; the first session of the appeal hearing was on 19 October.

Abdel Fattah is also facing allegations of “insulting the judiciary” in a case that will come to trial in December. If found guilty the sentence can be anything starting from a fine to spending more years in prison.

Human rights group have called for the release of Alaa Abdel Fattah in solidarity with all Egyptian political prisoner.

Abd El Fattah, a software engineer, blogger and activist, is a prominent figure in the 25 January 2011 revolution toppling the regime of Hosni Mubarak.