An Egyptian official says an appeals court has upheld a five-year sentence for a Coptic Christian author convicted on charges of contempt of religion.
The official says the court in Beni Suef, south of Cairo, today confirmed the original sentence for Karam Saber. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorised to talk to media.
Saber was tried and sentenced in absentia last year over his 2010 novel "Where is God." After the initial sentencing, he turned himself in and received the same sentence in a retrial, in accordance with Egyptian law.
He then appealed and was free on bail pending today's decision.
Amnesty International called for Saber's immediate release, saying he is a "prisoner of conscience" punished for "exercising his right to freedom of expression.
