An Egyptian court on Wednesday sentenced prominent activist and former member of parliament Zyad Elelaimy to five years in prison and handed two others four-year jail terms on charges of spreading false news, a judicial source said.
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The three have been detained since 2019 and are facing separate allegations over the Hope coalition case, in which authorities accused them of being part group funded by the Muslim Brotherhood to incite revolution and commit violence.
Colleagues and activists said the arrests were aimed at preventing the formation of a secular coalition ahead of parliamentary elections in 2020 that were dominated by supporters of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
The detentions have become one of Egypt's most high-profile human rights cases.
