The Cairo Criminal Court on Tuesday renewed prison sentences for political activist Alaa Abdel Fattah and lawyer Mohamed al-Baqer for 45 days, pending investigations into charges of “spreading false news that would impact the national security of the country.”
The court decision was issued by judges Mohamed Saeed al-Sherbiny, Wagdy Abdel Moneim and Ali Omara.
The prosecutors accused the defendants in Case #1356 of 2018 joining a group established in contravention of the provisions of the law, aiming to suspend the constitution and to prevent state institutions and public authorities from carrying out their duties.
Abdel Fattah, a software engineer, blogger, and activist, was one of the public faces of the 2011 revolution that removed dictator Hosni Mubarak from power.
Police first arrested Abdel Fattah in November 2013 over charges of inciting anti-constitutional demonstration before the headquarters of the House of Representatives in Cairo.
The Cairo Criminal Court sentenced Abdel Fattah to five years in prison for demonstration without a police permit.
He had been freed back in 2019 after serving out his sentence.
The case was among the most prominent in a series of trials of secular dissidents who have been jailed along with thousands of Islamists since July 2013.
