An Egyptian court has found a Dutch journalist guilty of assisting the banned Muslim Brotherhood and sentenced her to 10 years in jail, in absentia.

Rena Netjes is one of a group of journalists put on trial for supporting the now banned group and spreading false news. Three other journalists for broadcaster al-Jazeera were sentenced to seven years in jail for the same offences. They had spent the past six months in a Cairo jail.

Netjes, who worked for Nos, BNR radio and the Parool newspaper, had  contact with al-Jazeera staff as part of her job. The Egyptian authorities say the broadcaster supports the Muslim Brotherhood.

Extradition

Netjes was allowed to leave Cairo in February to wait for the outcome of the trial following the intervention of the Dutch embassy, broadcaster Nos said. The Netherlands does not have an extradition treaty with Egypt.

Foreign minister Frans Timmermans has summoned Egypt’s ambassador to the Netherlands to explain the ruling, saying Netjes was not given a fair trial. Her lawyer was not able to defend her because she was not personally in Egypt for the hearings.

‘The minimum requirements for a fair trial were not met,’ Timmermans said. He also plans to raise the issue with his European colleagues during a meeting in Luxemburg later today.

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