On Sunday, 25 February, the Court of Appeal (Economic Felonies - Circuit B) accepted - in form - Appeal No. 14149 of 92, submitted by Abdel-Rahman Gamal al-Sayyid al-Gadi, and upheld - in content - the misdemeanour ruling of the Economic Court in Tanta (Appeals Circuit) that sentenced him to five years in prison with labour and immediate effect. The court also revoked the 1000-pound fine included in the ruling. Al-Gadi was charged with contempt of religions and violating the principles and values of Egyptian society. In its ruling, the court adopted the most severe penalty stipulated in Article 98 (f), which allows the judge to choose either a prison sentence or a fine but does not impose both penalties together.

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR)’s lawyer – in his capacity as an agent for the defendant – filed the appeal three years ago based on several reasons, including the fact that the ruling did not explain the incident requiring the penalty in a way that fulfilled its conditions, and was devoid of its reasons. The lawyer also stated that the ruling was marred by misapplication of the law, shortcomings in causation, and corruption in reasoning. He said the ruling did not prove the existence of material and moral elements for the crimes of exploiting and violating religion, nor did it demonstrate a specific intent. The verdict further breached the right of defence, as it amended the registration and description by adding other charges – without notifying the defendant – of spreading false news, which is punishable by Article 102 bis of the Penal Code. The ruling charged the defendant with violating Egyptian society's principles and values despite violating the constitution. It also charged him with using a social media account to commit crimes although the rulings issued by economic courts stated that this was the responsibility of the site manager and not the account user.

On 31 December 2020, the Tanta Economic Court (The Third Circuit of First Instance) sentenced al-Gadi to five years in prison with labour and immediate effect and ordered him to pay a fine of one thousand pounds. It charged him with contempt of the heavenly religions (Islam and Christianity), blasphemy, violating the Islamic religion through his personal account on Facebook, and violating the principles and values of Egyptian society by publishing offensive content online. On 7 March 2021, the Economic Court in Tanta (The Appeals Circuit) accepted the defendant’s appeal in form and rejected it in content, which means upholding the ruling issued against him in Case No. 152 of 2020 (Tanta Economic Misdemeanours – Appeal), registered under No. 1086 of 2020 (Tanta Economic Misdemeanours).