A Cairo criminal court sentenced on Saturday a man and his wife to five years in prison for illegally trading in antiquities and possessing artifacts in their apartment in Zamalek neighborhood.
The couple were also fined EGP one million each.
The case, locally known to the media as “Zamalek apartment antiquities trial," dates back to May 2021 when police found a large quantity of ancient artifacts and rare jewelry in the apartment while executing an unrelated warrant against the defendants' son.
In February, the Public Prosecution referred the couple to trial, accusing them of illegally possessing 1,384 ancient artifacts that are not registered with the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), the government body in charge of protecting Egyptian heritage.
The couple did not notify the SCA within the legal grace period of 48 hours of the artifacts in order to be registered despite knowing they are archaeological pieces, according to the prosecution.
The artifacts date back to the Ancient Egyptian and Islamic eras as well as the Mohamed Ali Dynasty, according to the prosecution's referral-to-court statement.
The couple was also found in possession of 119 artifacts from Egypt’s Khepal period in the 19th century.
The husband is the son of Abdel-Fattah Hassan, a former interior minister under King Farouk (1936-1952) - the last ruler of Egypt from the Mohamed Ali dynasty.
Mohamed Ali Pasha was the Albanian ruler of Egypt between 1805 and 1848.
In a statement circulated by local media at the time of his referral, the accused asserted that he had inherited the artifacts from his family.
In February, the court issued a media gag order in the case.
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