A court in Alexandria has sentenced leading rights activist Mahienour el-Massry to two years in prison on charges of illegally protesting against the Egyptian government’s decision to transfer two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, judicial sources informed Reuters on Saturday.

Leading rights activist, Mahienour el-Massry, was sentenced to two years in prison on charges of protesting against the Egyptian government, Middle East Monitor (MEM) reported.

El-Massy who protested the government’s decision of transferring two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, was arrested along with activist Moatasim Medhat in November.

Four other people were handed four-year sentences in absentia on same charges, judicial sources informed Reuters on Saturday.

he court tried four other people in absentia and handed them four-year sentences on the same charges, the sources said.

According to MEM, both Saudi Arabia and Egypt agreed that the islands belong to the kingdom, and they were under Egyptian control because Riyadh had asked Cairo to protect them in 1950.