#illegal protest

An Egyptian court ordered prominent activist Alaa Abdel Fattah back to jail Monday after he was previously freed on bail during a trial for taking part in an illegal protest, a relative said. His sister Mona Seif told AFP Abdel Fattah had been taken into custody after a hearing into his case on charges of participating in a violent and illegal protest following the military's overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi last year. Abdel Fattah, 32, was one of the youth activists who spearheaded an uprising against veteran strongman Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and later backed the overthrow of the divisive Morsi. Hailed as an "icon of the revolution" by the authorities after Morsi's overthrow, Abdel Fattah and other secular leaning dissident leaders have not been spared an extensive crackdown aimed mainly at Morsi's Islamist backers. Source: AFP

Cairo (AFP) - An appeals court in Egypt Sunday acquitted 112 people convicted of holding an illegal protest on the third anniversary of the 2011 revolt that toppled Hosni Mubarak, judicial sources said. Source: AFP

More than 20 youth activists will go on trial on Sunday for taking part in an illegal protest, including the sister of a prominent figure from the 2011 uprising recently jailed over similar charges. After the army ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi last July, the authorities launched a harsh crackdown on the Islamist and secular opposition. In recent months, dozens of youth activists have been jailed for protesting illegally, after a law banning all but police-sanctioned rallies was adopted in November. They are charged with "protesting without authorisation, damaging public and private properties and blocking traffic," defence lawyer Mohamed Abdel Aziz told AFP. Source: AFP

An Egyptian court on Wednesday sentenced in absentia prominent activist Alaa Abdel Fattah to 15 years in jail on charges of participating in an illegal protest, his lawyer said. Twenty-four other defendants were sentenced, also in absentia, to 15 years in jail each on the same charges. Abdel Fattah, who helped spearhead the 2011 uprising that toppled strongman Hosni Mubarak, was arrested in November, charged with taking part in an illegal and violent protest. His arrest came amid a widespread crackdown by the military-installed authorities against Islamist and secular dissent in the wake of the army's ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July. Source: AFP