Court overturns jail sentence for Egypt’s Red Sea islands deal protesters

A Giza court of appeals overturned on Tuesday a five-year jail sentence for 47 people for participating in protests against the Egyptian-Saudi Red Sea maritime border demarcation deal announced last month.

However, the court upheld an EGP 100,000 fine for each defendant.

Thousands of people, including activists and politicians, protested last month against the government decision to acknowledge Saudi sovereignty over the Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir.

The protests are believed to be the largest to take place in Egypt since President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi was elected president in 2014.

In April, the defendants were referred to court by the prosecution for “illegally protesting, attempting to overthrow the government, rioting, inciting against state institutions, disturbing public peace and disrupting traffic.”

Source: Ahram Online