The Cassation Court accepted on Wednesday the appeal of activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, amending the verdict to five years imprisonment instead of five years of prison hard labour. The court affirmed the fine.

In February 2015, the Cairo Criminal Court had sentenced Abdel Fattah to five years in prison with hard labour and a EGP 100,000 fine, on protest charges in the case known as the Shura Council protests in 2013.

Charges included protesting without a police permit and attacking a policeman.

Abdel Fattah and the other 24 demonstrators were protesting Article 198 of the Constitution, which allows for the military trial of civilians under certain circumstances.

The demonstration, which the defendants described as peaceful, took place on 26 November 2013, and was organised by the “No Military Trials for Civilians” group, which was launched by Mona Seif.