"A recent one-year prison sentence handed down against a prominent opposition activist in Egypt is the latest attempt by the government to silence criticism, Amnesty International said today while calling for the conviction to be quashed and for him to be released.
On 15 June, an Alexandria appeals court upheld the conviction against Hassan Mostafa for insulting and attacking a public prosecutor but lowered his sentence from two years in prison to one year with labour.
Mostafa, who denies the accusations against him, was not brought to the hearing on Saturday.
“The conviction against Hassan Mostafa is the latest blow to freedom of expression in Egypt, where we see case after case of opposition activists, bloggers, comedians and protesters facing trial for criticizing the authorities or ‘defaming religion’,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director for Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.
On 21 January this year, Hassan Mostafa had gone to the Manshiya Prosecution office in Alexandria with a group of lawyers to inquire about the whereabouts of dozens of protesters and passers-by who had been arrested a day earlier.
He was arrested later that day inside the adjacent Alexandria Court complex and charged......"
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