Cairo court acquits 33 Egyptians sentenced to 2 years over island deal protests

A Cairo misdemeanour court acquitted late Saturday 33 defendants sentenced last month to two years in jail for participation in protests against an Egypt-Saudi islands deal.

The misdemeanour court accepted an appeal the 33 defendants issued against their jail sentence.

According to judicial sources, all defendants should be freed on Sunday as they were had not paid bail prior to their sentencing.

The acquitted were charged with “illegally protesting, attempting to overthrow the government, rioting, inciting against state institutions, disturbing public peace and disrupting traffic.”

Police pre-empted the second round of anti-island deal protests on 25 April, surrounding the Press Syndicate, where demonstrations were slated to take place, and firing teargas to disperse protestors before they could gather in large numbers.

The first round of protests on 15 April, were described by some as the largest protests since President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi was elected president in 2014.

Source: Ahram Online