Egyptian court gives 3-year sentence to ex-interior minister

PanARMENIAN.Net - An Egyptian court has sentenced the country's former interior minister to three years in prison after finding him guilty of abusing his position in power by forcing police conscripts to work on his mansion and land outside Cairo, The Associated Press reported.

Habib al-Adly served as ousted leader Hosni Mubarak's security chief for more than a decade.

The Giza court on Saturday, Feb 2, also convicted former riot police chief Hassan Abdel-Hamid of authorizing the illegal labor and sentenced him to three years in prison.

Both men were fined 2.3 million Egyptian pounds ($342,000). The verdict can be appealed.

In June, al-Adly and Mubarak were sentenced to life in prison for failing to prevent the killing of protesters during the 2011 revolt that led to Mubarak's ouster. Both men appealed, and have won a retrial.