5 years jail for Egyptian at centre of Riyadh-Cairo row

A Saudi court on Tuesday sentenced an Egyptian rights lawyer whose arrest on drug trafficking charges in April sparked a diplomatic row with Cairo to five years in prison and 300 lashes.

Ahmed al-Gizawi, arrested in April, was accused of trying to smuggle 21,380 capsules of the anti-anxiety drug Xanax, which is banned in Saudi Arabia. His arrest in April provoked angry demonstrations in Egypt, while Saudi responded by recalling its ambassador.