An Egyptian appeals court upheld on Tuesday 15-year prison terms for three teenagers convicted of the 2019 killing of 18-year-old Mahmoud El-Banna, referred to in Egyptian media as the "martyr of chivalry."

The court also upheld a five-year prison sentence for a fourth defendant in relation to the case.

The sentences can still be appealed at the Court of Cassation.

Last year, a juvenile criminal court sentenced 17-year-old Mohamed Rageh and two other defendants to 15 years in prison for the killing.

El-Banna, 18, intervened to stop a group of boys – Rageh among them – from harassing a girl in the street, in an incident that took place in October last year.

Following the encounter, El-Banna posted wrote on social media, "It is not manly to beat a girl in the street."

That night, Rageh and two accomplices ambushed and attacked El-Banna in the street. According to eyewitnesses, the suspects stabbed El-Banna three times before fleeing the scene.

Bystanders took the young man to hospital, where he died of his injuries.

Rageh’s age provoked controversy in Egypt, with some demanding he and the other defendants be tried as adults so they would be eligible for the death penalty, instead of as minors in the juvenile court.

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