The Cairo Criminal Court today sentenced former Minister of Information Anas al-Feqy to seven years in prison and former chief of the country’s National Radio and Television Broadcasting Union (ERTU) Usama al-Sheikh to five years in prison over corruption charges. The two were accused of waving the fees to Egyptian satellite channels for airing a football tournament that cost Egypt $1.89 million.
The session, which was televised on Egypt’s national TV, was aired live this morning. Families of the two men were in an uproar once the sentences were declared and the courtroom had to be evacuated except for lawyers. Egyptian activists have been pushing for former officials from the Hosni Mubarak era to be tried and sentenced over their actions during the past three decades, which ended on 12 February after massive protests forced out the government.
(Source: bikyamasr.com)
