Egyptian court sentences U.S. citizen Mohamed Soltan to life in prison

An Egyptian court has sentenced Mohamed Soltan, a 27-year-old U.S. citizen, to life in prison, NBC News reports.

Soltan, who graduated from Ohio State University, joined his father at a 2013 sit-in supporting ousted President Mohamed Morsi. There, Egyptian security forces took both father and son into custody; the younger Soltan was shot during the incident. Soltan was charged with belonging to the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood and spreading false information, due to interviews he gave to journalists covering the unrest in Egypt.

His family says Soltan has been on a hunger strike for several months in protest against what he says was an unfair trial.

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"As a nation that prides itself on justice and democracy, it is an abomination that a U.S. citizen who committed no crime has been in prison for even a day, let alone a year and a half," his family said in a statement.