CAIRO, Jul 10 (Aswat Masriya) - A Cairo court sentenced on Sunday Magdy Hussein, the editor-in-chief of al-Shaab newspaper, to three years in prison on charges of defamation and insulting of Supreme Constitutional Court judges.

The Cairo Criminal Court also sentenced Morsi el-Adham, a journalist at the same newspaper, to three years, according to the state-owned Middle East News Agency.

The court levied an EGP 10,000 fine on each of the defendants and ordered the confiscation of all printed copies of the newspaper’s edition that contained defamation, libel and insult.

The Supreme Constitutional Court judges had filed a case against both defendants in the wake of a report published by the newspaper in June 2013, in which the defendants accused the judges of illegally procuring state land among other allegations.

In March, a Giza court upheld an eight-year prison sentence handed to Hussein, a vocal supporter of former president Mohamed Mursi, on accusations of promoting extremist ideologies, harming national unity and social peace.

Hussein was a leading figure in a pro-Mursi alliance that was formed following his military ouster in July 2013 after mass protests against the former president’s rule.