An Egyptian court sentenced prominent activist Alaa Abdel-Fattah to five years in prison Monday on charges connected to a law banning protests.
The Cairo court also sentenced 24 others to between three and 15 years, drawing shouts of “down with military rule” from supporters in the courtroom.
Authorities said that in November 2013, Abdel-Fattah incited an unauthorized demonstration and assaulted a police officer. An earlier verdict sentenced him to 15 years in prison, but a judge ordered a retrial.
He was a leading opposition figure during the 2011 popular uprising that pushed former President Hosni Mubarak from power.
The law against protests not authorized by the government went into effect after the next president, Mohamed Morsi, was ousted by the military in 2013.
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