Ismailia Criminal Court yesterday confirmed upheld the prison sentences of 11 persons convicted of falsifying documents in order to encroach on 952 feddans of state-owned land in South Sinai. The defendants included civil servants, lawyers and business owners.
At a court session presided over by Fathi Mohamed Anwar Ezzat, three defendants were sentenced to ten years, seven were sentenced to three years, and one was sentenced to one year in prison.
A South Sinai court originally handed down the prison sentences and ordered that the civil servants be dismissed from their positions, however the defendants challenged the ruling before Ismailia Criminal Court.
The defendants were found to have falsified legal documents and official reports between 2005 and 2007 in order to seize land in South Sinai and sell it on.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
