An Egyptian court upholds a prison sentence for the activist who challenged the president

CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian appeals court has upheld a one-year prison sentence against a prominent political activist who attempted to challenge President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi in last year’s election. Former presidential hopeful Ahmed Altantawy was taken into custody by security forces at the court in Cairo after the ruling was issued Monday. That’s according to his defense lawyer. Altantawy was widely seen as the most viable opposition candidate but dropped out of the presidential race after failing to garner the number of signatures from voters required for a nomination. At the time, he accused state security agencies of harassing supporters to prevent him from reaching the threshold.