Beltagy sentenced to 2yrs in prison for insulting judiciary

CAIRO - 27 December 2018: The Cairo Criminal Court, headed by Counselor Mohamed Sherin Fahmy, sentenced on Dec. 26 Brotherhood's leader Mohamed el-Beltagy to two years in prison for insulting the court.

During former Minister of interior Habib al-Adly's hearing in the case of "breaking into the border" on Nov. 7, Beltagy laughed sarcastically after the court announced its decision to prevent him from proceeding to ask questions to the witness, Adly.

The court usedArticle 244 of the criminal law measures to file a suit against Beltagy. The article stipulate sthat if any violations or discourteousness are committed in the court hearing, the court shall immediately file a lawsuit against the defendant and issue a ruling after hearing his lawyer and the prosecution.

Under the law, the defendant charged of court contempt shall face sentences ranging from 24 hours to three years in prison, and the head of court uses Article 184 of the Penal Code to identify which penalty to impose on the defendant if any actions were committed to insult or undermine the court, Parliament, army or any other authority. Under Article 184, he shall be punished with prison time or a fine.