Five people were sentenced to a year in prison by the Luxor Criminal Court on Wednesday for blocking the railways in Esna, Luxor Governorate, with gas canisters during a protest over the butane shortage in March.
During the trial, prosecutors showed videos and photos of the defendants blocking the tracks and instigating other citizens to join them.
Luxor’s Attorney General, Mohamed Fahmy, said this is the first ruling concerning protests in Luxor since the breakout of the 25 January revolution against former President Hosni Mubarak.
Blocking the train tracks has been a common protesting technique since the uprising.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
