[JURIST] A Cairo criminal court on Wednesday jailed the former chief of staff of deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi [BBC profile] following his conviction for abuse of power. Refaa al-Tahtawi was sentenced [AFP report] to a three-year jail term and ordered to pay a USD $9,000 fine after being convicted of appointing a lawyer who had been banned from public service in the presidency’s Office of the Ombudsman. The lawyer had been sentenced [AA report] to 15 years in prison for distributing leaflets, according to a judicial source, and the court also sentenced him to a one-year jail term and a USD $9,000 fine as well for accepting the appointment. Al-Tahtawi is also awaiting trial where he, Morsi and more than 30 of Morsi’s supporters are facing espionage charges.

Political conflict in Egypt has been ongoing since the ouster of former president Morsi in 2013, and political backlash has been particularly strong against his Muslim Brotherhood party. Late last month an Egyptian court acquitted [JURIST report] 68 people, including members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, who were charged with gathering illegally and attacking security forces earlier this year. Also in March an Egyptian court sentenced [JURIST report] a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and 13 others to death after finding them guilty of planning attacks against the state. In February an Egyptian court sentenced [JURIST report] four members of the Muslim Brotherhood to death, along with 14 others to life in prison. The individuals were accused of murder and possession of firearms, among other charges, after clashes near the Muslim Brotherhood’s headquarters, which occurred just days before Morsi’s ouster.