Today, Tuesday, the Egyptian Court of Cassation ruled to reject the appeal of former Minister of Information, Safwat Al-Sharif, to a three-year prison sentence in the graft case, which means that the verdict has become final and definitive given that the Court of Cassation represents the last stage of litigation in Egypt.
Safwat Al-Sharif, who served as Minister of Information during the era of late President Hosni Mubarak, surrendered himself during the last session "on July 7" to the court's security forces as a necessary procedure to accept his appeal in form, according to government news websites.
The court of first instance had sentenced the sheriff to five years in prison and a fine of 209 million pounds for exploiting influence and illicit gain, then the Court of Cassation decided to cancel the ruling and re-trial before another circuit, which in turn decided to imprison the sheriff for three years with a fine of 99 million pounds, and acquitted his son of the same charges.
It is noteworthy that Al-Sharif, "87," was one of the pillars of the regime of the late President Hosni Mubarak, who was toppled by the January 2011 revolution after three decades in power.
Al-Sharif held the position of Secretary General of the ruling National Democratic Party and served for many years as Minister of Information, then assumed the presidency of the Shura Council, which represented the second chamber of parliament.
After the January revolution, Sharif and a number of Mubarak-era officials and even Mubarak himself faced charges of corruption and killing protesters, but the matter ended with most of them acquitted or reduced sentences were issued, which was criticized by the opposition, noting that President Mohamed Morsi, who was the first elected civilian president after the January revolution, was dismissed a year later. One, after a military coup led by the current president, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, when he was defense minister in mid-2013.