Egyptian court awards prominent activist 15 years' jail

An Egyptian court Wednesday sentenced in absentia a prominent activist to 15 years in jail on charges of protesting without state permission.

Alaa Abdel Fattah was one of the leading activists who helped spearheading the massive protests that ousted President Hosni Mubarak in 2011, Xinhua reported citing state-run Ahram news website.

He was arrested November last year along with some other activists and government critics over organising unauthorized protests outside the Shura Council (the Upper House of parliament) and defying a controversial law that requires protestors to report their activities to the state.

Fattah was also charged with assaulting security men and inciting people for protests against the then military-installed government.

Twenty-four others were also sentenced to 15 years in jail on similar charges.

The ruling came three days after former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was sworn in as Egypt's new president.