Egyptian military court sentences journalist to 10 years

Egyptian military tanks are positioned outside the police institute near Cairo's Turah prison during the trial of three detained journalists with the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera broadcaster on April 10, 2014. (AFP PHOTO / MOHAMED EL-SHAHED / AFP PHOTO / MOHAMED EL-SHAHED)

CAIRO: An Egyptian military court has sentenced a freelance journalist who reported on the Sinai insurgency to 10 years in prison on terror-related charges.
The Cairo military court on Tuesday convicted Ismail Alexandrani of spreading false news and joining an outlawed group, without identifying it. The verdict can be appealed.
Alexandrani was detained in 2015 upon his return to Egypt after delivering a presentation on Sinai militancy in Berlin. He worked for several news outlets in Egypt.
Egypt has heavily restricted media access to the northern Sinai, where it has struggled to combat a Daesh-led insurgency that has carried out attacks across the country.
Egyptian authorities have jailed several journalists as part of a wide-ranging crackdown on dissent, and have passed vague laws criminalizing the dissemination of “false news.”