Egypt court jails 50 policemen over strike

An Egyptian court has jailed 50 policemen for three years after convicting them on charges related to a strike earlier this year, state media reported.

The low-ranking policemen were also fined 6,000 pounds (roughly USD 330) by the South Sinai court yesterday, the state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper reported on its website.

The policemen had gone on strike in January to protest reduced holidays and allegedly "threatened violence" against superior officers, the newspaper said.

Egyptian policemen held several demonstrations and strikes after the 2011 overthrow of president Hosni Mubarak.

The authorities have shown little tolerance for protests since the army toppled Mubarak's Islamist successor Mohamed Morsi in 2013, unleashing a bloody crackdown on his followers and a deadly jihadist insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula.