Egyptian military court gives prison terms to 19 individuals

An Egyptian military court has handed down jail terms to 19 people, including three children, for attending anti-government demonstrations and allegedly storming state buildings.

Sixteen of the convicts were sentenced to 10 years behind bars, and the three children received three-year prison terms each, the al-Quds al-Arabi daily reported, quoting a source who asked not to be named.

They were found guilty of raiding a building in the city of Shubra in the north of Cairo Province, assaulting a civil servant and fomenting riots, according to the source.

They had staged a rally in late February 2014 in protest at the military coup that led to the overthrow of the first democratically-elected president of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi, in July 2013. They were arrested by security forces, and charges were later brought against them.

The military court also adjourned until late September the trials of another 28 individuals accused of opposing the government. Fifteen of them are currently behind bars.

They are charged with allegedly setting up a terrorist group, according to a judicial source.

Egyptian security forces said in July that they had apprehended members of what they called a “terrorist” group before it could launch an operation.