Egypt court sentences presidential hopeful to six years

An Egyptian military court on Tuesday sentenced an army colonel to six years in prison after he announced his intention to run against President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi in next year's elections.

Col. Ahmed Konsowa was convicted of violating military regulations banning political activism by active duty officers, his defence lawyer Asaad Heikal told Associated Press.

The verdict, announced at a sentencing hearing by a Cairo military court, can be appealed, he added. 

A prominent rights activist, Khaled Ali, has said he would also run. Hanging over his bid, however, is a September conviction for allegedly making an obscene hand gesture the day he won a court case in January against the government's decision to transfer two strategic Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia.

Ali also received a suspended three-month jail sentence. He has appealed the conviction.

If his conviction of alleged indecency - widely seen to be politically motivated - is upheld, he could be disqualified from running.

Another potential candidate is Ahmed Shafiq, a retired air force general who served as the last prime minister under dictator Hosni Mubarak, ousted in a popular uprising in 2011.

Shafiq narrowly lost to the Islamist Mohammed Morsi in 2012. Shortly after, he left for the United Arab Emirates where he lived in self-imposed exile until early this month, when he returned home.