A member of Egypt's ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces said a military court ruling that sentenced a young blogger to three years for insulting the army is not necessarily final.
Assistant Defense Minister for Legal Affairs Mamdouh Shahin said that blogger Maikel Nabil has the right to appeal the verdict before the military judiciary.
Shahin told ONTV that freedom of expression is guaranteed based on the law, but added that the laws also incriminate actions that harm the security of the armed forces.
Egyptian security forces arrested Nabil on 28 March after he published an article on his blog that claimed the army was involved in torturing detainees during the 25 January revolution. The article cited international news reports as references.
The court issued his prison sentence on Monday.