Zeid was arrested along with two other journalists while he was taking pictures of the 14 August 2013 Rabaa massacre . The two other non-Egyptian journalists were released but Shawkan remained in prison for more than two years without charges . His case , along with 700 other defendants , is known as the " Rabaa sit-in dispersal " . Shawkan 's camera has not been used as evidence he is a photojournalist , which makes his status as a prisoner ambiguous . By November 2015 , he had been in " pre-trial detention for over two years " . On 26 March 2016 , he was charged with six offences , and , as a result , faced the death penalty . On 8 September , an Egyptian court handed him a 5-year jail sentence which could see him leave prison " within a few days , " said his lawyer Karim Abdelrady . Abdelrady added that the sentence was nevertheless " unfair because he ( Shawkan ) was only doing his job "
14 August 2013 Rabaa massacre
August 2013 Rabaa massacre
Mahmoud Abu Zeid