CAIRO – 21 April 2022: Cairo Criminal Court sentenced Thursday former Parliamentarian Alaa Hassanein to 10 years in prison, and Businessman Hassan Rateb to five years in prison in the case known as the "Massive Artifact Looting." The Public Prosecution's arraignment charged Hassanein with illegally excavating artifacts, and committing the crimes of trafficking and smuggling them through a gang he had formed. As for Rateb, he is convicted of funding Hassanein and his gang to commit such crimes. The prosecution said it seized four deep digging sites, noting that the antiquities committee confirmed that the digging work was made to excavate antiquities. After hearing the witnesses and the attorney's pleading in February and March, the court designated April 21 to issue the verdict.

Source: Egypt Today April 21, 2022 23:55 UTC