The six journalists, sentenced to life, were convicted of disseminating false news, inciting violence and chaos, and being part of an "operations room" aimed at orchestrating attacks against the government during demonstrations in Cairo's Rabaa Adawiya Square in support of deposed President Mohamed Morsi.

Cornelis Hulsman: I have seen this operations room. Journalists working here were broadcasting the information fed to them. Many of the speakers at Rabaa Adawiya were rousing sentiments and thus this may have been broadcasted as well. I do not know the personal involvement of these six journalists and sentences to life are indeed heavy. But in Egypt still a media war is fought with little respect for truth and ethics.