Leading Egypt activist sentenced to 15 years in prison An Egyptian court has sentenced one of the leading activists behind the country's 2011 uprising to 15 years in prison after convicting him taking part in clashes between protesters and security forces later that year

CAIRO -- An Egyptian court has sentenced one of the leading activists behind the country's 2011 uprising to 15 years in prison after convicting him of taking part in clashes between protesters and security forces later that year.

The Cairo Criminal Court also fined Ahmed Douma, a secular activist, 6 million Egyptian pounds, or $345,000, in his retrial on violence-related charges.

In an initial trail in 2015, Douma and 229 others were sentenced to life in prison. All were tried in absentia except Douma.

Douma appealed the life sentence and Egypt's highest appeals court ordered his retrial, ultimately leading to the reduced sentence.

The case concerns clashes in Cairo in December 2011, during which a fire gutted parts of a library housing rare manuscripts and books. Other government buildings damaged during the protests including the parliament.