An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced the former head of the Journalists Union and two board members a year in jail on charges of harboring colleagues wanted by the law, official news agency MENA reported.

The sentence in November for the three journalists Yehia Qalah, Khalid al-Balshy and Gamal Abdel Rahim was two years in jail, MENA said.

But Saturday's sentence was handed without labor, so according to Egyptian laws, the three journalists won't be imprisoned but banned from travel for three years, in case they are charged in any other cases.

The case dates back to May 2, 2016, when the police raided the Egyptian syndicate to arrest two opposition journalists, Mahmoud al-Sakka and Amr Badr, who took shelter inside the premise.

Union officials condemned the raid, saying it's the first time the syndicate has been stormed in its history, but the interior ministry said Sakka and Badr were arrested on criminal charges.

source: Xinhua