Life sentence for Egyptian activist

An Egyptian court Wednesday sentenced prominent liberal activist Ahmed Douma to life in prison on violence-related charges, media reported.

Douma, also a blogger who spearheaded the 2011 popular uprising which toppled former president Hosni Mubarak, was also fined 17 million Egyptian pounds ($2.2 million) for burning a scientific complex in the vicinity of the cabinet headquarters, Xinhua news agency reported citing state-run Ahram website.

He was charged along with 268 others in the case known publicly as "the cabinet events", of assembling people without prior approval of the interior ministry as required by a controversial protest law, weapons possession, assaulting policemen and setting a government institution ablaze.

On Jan 27, Douma also received three years in prison for insulting the judiciary.

He, along with two activists, were sentenced to three years in prison in December 2013 for participation in the pro-democracy protests under the new protest law.