Safwat Hegazy delivers a speech to supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi during a protest in Cairo July 7, 2013. (Reuters)
Egyptian Salafi preacher Safwat Hegazy gets 1-year sentence
Safwat Hegazy was a key speaker at the main pro-Mursi sit-in dispersed by security forces last August
Egyptian court officials say a Salafi preacher and top Muslim Brotherhood ally has been sentenced to a year in prison with labor for insulting judges during a trial at the Cairo police academy.
Safwat Hegazy, who joined ranks with the Brotherhood in supporting the electoral campaign of the now-deposed Islamist president, Mohammed Mursi, was sentenced Wednesday for remarks made the same day while on trial with 130 others, including Mursi, for escaping from prison during the country's 2011 uprising.
Hegazy was a key speaker at the main pro-Mursi sit-in dispersed by security forces last August. He had told protesters to hold their ground and promised to reverse the military's overthrow of Mursi.
Officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists.
