Lawyers for an Egyptian-American human rights activist sentenced to seven years in prison have asked an appeals court to grant a retrial, saying that his conviction was riddled with flaws, according to reports.
Saad Eddin Ibrahim, a sociologist with Egyptian and American citizenship, was sentenced to prison in May for tarnishing Egypt's image, embezzlement and accepting foreign money without official approval.
Twenty-seven co-defendants who worked for Ibrahim, 62, at the Ibn Khaldun research center in Cairo received prison sentences ranging from one to five years.
Defense lawyer Ibrahim Saleh was quoted by the Guardian as saying the court had relied on confessions from Ibrahim's co-defendants "which were taken by false promises, threats and coercion."
"The State Security Court committed mistakes both in the letter and spirit of the law," Saleh told the Associated Press after filing the appeal – Albawaba.com
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