Egypt courts order release of 21 female protesters

Egyptian women members of the Muslim Brotherhood hold roses as they stand in the defendants' cage dressed in prison issue white during their trial in at the court in the Egyptian Mediterranean city of Alexandria on December 7, 2013. Egypt appeals cou
Egyptian women members of the Muslim Brotherhood hold roses as they stand in the defendants' cage dressed in prison issue white during their trial in at the court in the Egyptian Mediterranean city of Alexandria on December 7, 2013. Egypt appeals courts on Saturday, Dec 7, 2013, ordered 14 women jailed after a protest to be freed, reducing 11-year prison terms to one-year suspended sentences, as seven girls were also ordered to be released. -- PHOTO: AFP

CAIRO (AFP) - Egypt appeals courts on Saturday ordered 14 women jailed after a protest to be freed, reducing 11-year prison terms to one-year suspended sentences, as seven girls were also ordered to be released.

The women's supporters in the Alexandria courtroom chanted "God is great" as the judge pronounced the ruling.

The girls, who had initially been sentenced to juvenile detention, were ordered freed by a separate court but placed on three-month probation.

The 21 were all convicted last month of taking part in a violent protest demanding Islamist president Mohamed Mursi's reinstatement following his overthrow by the army in July.

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