Egyptian activist Khaled Ali sentenced to 3 months for offending public decency

A Giza misdemeanor court sentenced Monday prominent human rights lawyer and former presidential candidate Khaled Ali to three months in prison and 1000 Egyptian pounds in bail for offending public decency, Al-Ahram Arabic website reported.

Ali was accused of the offence after allegedly giving a middle finger in January while being lifted up by a crowd during a demonstration outside the State Council headquarters. The gathering followed a court ruling annulling the 2016 deal to hand over control of the Tiran and Sanafir islands to Saudi Arabia.

Monday’s decision is a first degree court verdict that can be appealed.

Ali announced on his official Facebook account shortly after the ruling that he would appeal the decision. He also criticized the trial, accusing the court of ignoring the defence team’s requests and issuing the verdict without hearings.

“We will appeal on the verdict, but not out of fear of prison. We are not better than the youth that paid a price from their own lives inside prison for defending the Egyptian identity of Tiran and Sanafir,” said the famous lawyer.

The case against Ali was filed by independent lawyer Samir Sabry in January.

Ali ran for president in Egypt’s 2012 presidential elections, which saw the election of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

Should the appeal against this verdict be rejected, Khaled Ali will be unable to run in the upcoming 2018 presidential elections, according to Egypt’s Presidential Elections Law.

Source: Ahram Online