Abdel-Hady, 68, who is one of the founders of the opposition Democratic Civil Movement, was accused by the prosecution of spreading and airing false news and misusing a social media platform, as well as working with a terrorist organisation.

According to Abdel-Hady’s lawyer, Khaled Ali, the case was related to an article the accused published online in 2018, for which he was arrested and released on bail at the time.

Ali — a well-known human rights lawyer — added that Abdel-Hady, who gained fame during late president Hosni Mubarak’s era for his activism against the privatisation of the public sector, was detained in January 2019 pending investigation in another case that is still ongoing.

Abdel-Hady has been in pre-trial detention for more than two years.

The sentence of the State Security Misdemeanour Court is final and cannot be appealed.