Dozens of journalists organized a vigil Saturday evening to protest a court ruling to sentence head of Journalists union Yehia Qallash and two other board members to two years in prison.
The ruling was handed to the trio over charges of harboring fugitives.
The charges stem from a police raid at the union’s HQ early this year to arrest two journalists claimed to be wanted by police.
The lawyer for the trio Shaaban Saeed said that a bail of 10K for each of them will be paid within the coming few days, and an appeal against the ruling will be sought.
The participants in the vigil denounced the ruling, repeated anti-police chants and raised signs that read “Journalism is not a crime.”
The union has announced it will hold an urgent meeting after the court ruling.
