Egyptian rights groups have called for the immediate release of a 27-year-old woman pharmacist, who was allegedly beaten by colleagues for choosing not to wear the Islamic hijab.

Ninety-eight female judges took oath on Tuesday to assume work at the State Council, in the first sitting of any woman as a judge on the bench of the council’s courts since it was established 75 years ago.

Egypt’s Zagazig Criminal Court in Sharqiya yesterday sentenced TV presenters Moataz Matar and Hossam Al Shorbagy to 15 years in prison each in absentia for contempt of court and joining the banned Muslim Brotherhood.

A leading figure in Egypt’s 2011 revolution, blogger Alaa Abdel-Fattah, appeared in court on Monday along with other co-defendants at the start of a new trial, his defence team said.

The fate of dissidents languishing in Egypt’s prisons has long been under scrutiny, but one veteran is leveraging his political prowess in a bid to have them released.

Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, Mohamed Ibrahim (Oxygen), and lawyer Mohamed al-Baqer are due to face trial on Monday after spending more than two years in provisional detention, according to their lawyer Khaled Ali.

A court in Egypt has renewed the detention of former presidential candidate Abdul Monem Aboul Fotouh for 45 days on charges of “broadcasting and spreading false news and information” as well as “misuse of a social media platform” and “aiding a terrorist organisation”.

An Egyptian military court on Wednesday upheld life sentences for 32 people accused of plotting to kill President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and a former Saudi crown prince, their lawyer said.

The wife of detained Egyptian business tycoon Safwan Thabet was interrogated for eight hours on Sunday by the state security prosecution, her lawyer has said.

The Geneva-based human rights group, the Committee for Justice (CFJ), has condemned Egypt’s latest mass death sentences despite the numerous violations that marred the investigation and due process.