Cairo: A prominent Egyptian activist who came to fame during the country’s 2011 uprising was sentenced to one month in prison on Thursday on charges of insulting the police, though he said he didn’t know about the hearing.
Alaa Abdul Fattah’s sentencing came as senior military officials in Egypt said soldiers killed a top militant in the Sinai Peninsula amid clashes.
A court official did not offer specifics on how Abdul Fattah insulted the police, though he said the charges stem from a complaint filed by prison authorities while he was held pending trial in a separate case. The official said an appeal over Abdel-Fattah’s sentencing was scheduled for Oct. 16.
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to journalists.
On Facebook, Abdul Fattah said he had not been aware of the new case against him. The activist is free on bail pending a retrial over his 15-year prison sentence for violating a widely criticised law that bans protests without prior government approval.
Abdul Fattah is a powerful voice for civil rights in Egypt and has spent time in prison under four different Egyptian governments. He is a member of one of Egypt’s most prominent activist families and his sister, Sanaa, is currently being held pending her own trial over charges of violating the protest law.
Meanwhile, military officials said soldiers in the restive Sinai killed Mohammad Abu Sheeta, a leader of the Al Qaida-inspired group Ansar Bait Al Maqdis, during clashes Thursday in the town of Rafah. Sheeta had led the abduction of Egyptian soldiers to press the government to release his detained brother, officials said.
The officials also said soldiers discovered an underground field hospital and a store packed with explosives. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists.
Ansar Bait Al Maqdis has claimed responsibility for several deadly suicide bombings in Egypt over the past year.
