An Egyptian court handed a five-year jail sentence to award-winning photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid on Saturday and confirmed death sentences against 75 people in one of the largest mass trials since the 2011 uprising.
Abu Zeid, widely known as Shawkan, who earlier this year received UNESCO’s World Freedom Prize, is however expected to walk free soon, his lawyer said.
Shawkan was arrested in August 2013 as he covered deadly clashes in Cairo between security forces and supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.
He was accused of "murder and membership of a terrorist organisation" – charges that can carry the death penalty – but has already spent five years in jail.
Shawkan should therefore be able to leave prison "within a few days", his lawyer Karim Abdelrady said as he welcomed the verdict.
Smiling in the dock, the photojournalist made a "V" for victory sign to journalists.
But Abdelrady added that the sentence was still "unfair because he (Shawkan) was only doing his job", covering the events unfolding in the Egyptian capital five years ago.
MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP/Getty Images
The lawyer said he would launch a new legal bid to recognise the innocence of his client.
Shawkan was one of 739 defendants on trial in the same case, most of them facing charges of killing police and vandalising property during the clashes.
His detention sparked outrage among human rights groups and NGOs who lobbied continuously for his release.
On Thursday, Amnesty International and press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) held a joint rally outside the Egyptian embassy in Paris to demand that he be set free.
At the time, Amnesty put out a statement warning Egyptian judicial authorities: "The world is watching you."
A photo of Shawkan – behind bars with his hands in front of his face mimicking holding a camera – has long circulated widely on social media.