Egypt jails girls over pro-Morsi demonstration

 

A court in Egypt has sentenced 21 female supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi to 11 years in prison.

They were found guilty of multiple charges, including belonging to a terrorist group, obstructing traffic, sabotage and using force at a protest in the city of Alexandria last month.
Seven are under 18 years of age and will be sent to a juvenile prison.
Human rights groups criticised the sentences, with one campaigner describing the verdict as madness.
The women and girls had taken part in an early morning demonstration in support of Mr Morsi.
Relatives say it was the first protest by the group, called the 7am movement, and that it was peaceful.
One family told the BBC their 15-year-old daughter was only passing by on her way to school.
A defence lawyer said the women expected to be sentenced to a month in jail at most.
But the BBC’s Orla Guerin in Cairo says that instead they have been given longer jail terms than police convicted of killing or seriously injuring civilians.