Ali Taha, one of the defence lawyers for the expelled Central Auditing Organisation (CAO) chief Hisham Geneina, denounced the court’s decision to imprison Geneina for one year.

Taha told Daily News Egypt that the trial is not going on its normal track. “The verdict violated all the legal rights and procedures of having a fair trial.”

The court did not hear judicial pleas from the defence, according to Taha, which he considered illegal. The penal code stipulates the presence of a defence lawyer for all defendants, and in case the defendant did not find a lawyer, the law requires the court to mandate a defence lawyer for him/her.

Taha further said that the court did not look into the defence requirements list.

The lawyers presented an appeal, which the court will review in September. Moreover, the lawyers are considering filing a separate case against the judge.

Geneina was sentenced to one year in prison by the Cairo Misdemeanour Court on Thursday on charges of spreading false news about corruption rates in Egypt.

Geneina did not attend the session on Thursday for the third time in a row. The court ordered him to pay EGP 10,000 bail to terminate the prison sentence and EGP 20,000 as a fine.