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| Egypt jails secular activists Ahmed Maher and others | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Three prominent Egyptian activists from the 2011 uprising that led to the fall of Hosni Mubarak have been sentenced to three years in jail. | Three prominent Egyptian activists from the 2011 uprising that led to the fall of Hosni Mubarak have been sentenced to three years in jail. |
| Ahmed Maher, Ahmed Douma and Mohamed Adel were found guilty of organising a recent unauthorised protest. | Ahmed Maher, Ahmed Douma and Mohamed Adel were found guilty of organising a recent unauthorised protest. |
| The three are key members of the 6 April Youth Movement that led protests to remove long-time President Mubarak. | The three are key members of the 6 April Youth Movement that led protests to remove long-time President Mubarak. |
| They were arrested after protesting in November over a new law that restricts demonstrations. | They were arrested after protesting in November over a new law that restricts demonstrations. |
| The protesters had complained that the law in effect replaced a recently expired state of emergency, and was stricter than the measures in place during the rule of Hosni Mubarak. | |
| The court in Cairo found them guilty of holding a demonstration without authorisation and attacking police officers. | The court in Cairo found them guilty of holding a demonstration without authorisation and attacking police officers. |
| State-run television said the men had been sentenced to three years' hard labour. They have also been ordered to pay a $7,000 (£4,000) fine each. | |
| Controversial | |
| As the verdict was read out, the courtroom erupted with chants of "Down, down with military rule! We are in a state, not in a military camp", Reuters news agency reports. | |
| The three pro-democracy campaigners are the first to be jailed under the controversial new law, which states that public gatherings of more than 10 people must be authorised. | |
| The military-installed government has defended the law, saying it is not intended to limit the right to demonstrate but rather to "protect the rights of protesters". | |
| However, there is deepening concern in Egypt about the growing crackdown on dissent, the BBC's Orla Guerin reports from Cairo. | |
| Initially Islamists - angry that the Muslim Brotherhood-backed government of Mohammed Morsi was ousted by the military in the summer - were the main targets, our correspondent says. Thousands have been detained. | |
| But recently dozens of liberal activists have been rounded up, she adds. |