Cairo: An Egyptian court on Sunday sentenced a student to one year in prison on charges of leaking high school examinations online, the first such ruling in a case related to massive test leaks that rocked the country last month, judicial sources said.
Before the ruling was delivered, the defendant, identified as Ahmad Ousam, admitted at the Misdemeanour Court in Giza near Cairo that he had helped leak the exams on a Facebook page he administered, the sources added.
The court also ordered the 19-year-old to pay 20,000 Egyptian pounds (around Dh8,250) in a fine.
The verdict is subject to appeal.
Following the ruling, parents of the defendant claimed that their son, an information technology student, had made confessions under coercion.
Last month, the Egyptian government cancelled and repeated some high school exams after they were leaked on social media shortly before students sat for their tests.
The leaks and exam repetition brought education authorities under scathing criticism and triggered angry street protests from students and their parents. Several education officials were arrested on suspicions of involvement in the leaks. They have yet to stand trial.
President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi has pledged that the leaks will not happen again and that the education system will be reformed.
Scores obtained in high school exams directly determine university admission in Egypt.
This year, more than 5,600 students in Egypt took high school exams the results of which are expected to be announced later this week.
