JURIST - Paper Chase: Egypt court sentences ex-interior minister to 3 years in prison for abusing power

[JURIST] A court in Giza, Egypt, on Saturday sentenced former interior minister Habib el-Adly [JURIST news archive] to three years in prison for abusing his position by forcing public officials to work on his home and property, which the court found was an illegal use of labor. El-Adly, who worked as the head of security for former president Hosni Mubarak [Al Jazeera profile; JURIST news archive], was also fined 2.3 million Egyptian pounds (USD $342,000) [AP report] by the court. El-Adly was sentenced to life in prison last June for ordering the killing of anti-government protesters during the 2011 Egyptian revolution [JURIST news archive] that led to the overthrow of Mubarak's regime. It is unclear if el-Adly plans to appeal the court's ruling.

Last February the chief prosecutor in the case against Mubarak and el-Adly asked the presiding judge to give the death penalty to both men [JURIST report] for their roles in the 2011 revolution. Prosecutors made a similar request [JURIST report] in January of last year. El-Adly was convicted on a different corruption charge [JURIST report] in July 2011 due to granting a no-bid contract [Al Jazeera report] to a German businessman to sell license plates in Egypt. The deal wasted USD $15 million of public funds by paying more for the plates than market price. El-Adly was sentenced to five years in prison and fined nearly USD $17 million.