The head of the journalists’ union in Egypt, alongside two other colleagues, have been sentenced to two years in prison for “harbouring fugitives”.
A court in Cairo also ruled that Yehia Qallash and board members Gamal Abdel Rahim and Khaled Al-balshy, should pay a $630 bail, pending an appeal.
In May, police raided the union’s headquarters in the capital, arresting two opposition journalists.
The two had sought shelter in the building from arrest warrants.
They were accused of inciting protests against a decision by the Egyptian authorities to hand over two islands in the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia.
Also earlier in the year, dozens of Egyptian and foreign journalists were briefly arrested while covering protests over President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi’s decision.
He had announced in April, that Tiran and Sanafir would be transferred, during a visit by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman.
Critics of Mr Sisi have condemned the transfer of the islands as “unconstitutional and lacking in transparency,” while accusing him of selling the islands in return for a multi-billion dollar aid package, unveiled by King Salman during his visit.
credit: channelstv.com
