Qasr Al-Nil Misdemeanour Court on Saturday sentenced 19 defendants accused of unlicensed protesting to two years in prison with hard labour, according to state media.

They were arrested from protests in downtown Cairo on 11 November.

The prosecution referred the defendants last week to the Misdemeanour Court for an immediate verdict.

11 November protests were scheduled through Ghalaba Movement’s (Movement of the Poor) Facebook page, to object to the deteriorating economic situation and price hikes as a result of previous economic decisions made by the state. Despite the large social media reaction to the call, protests failed to garner a significant number of people.