An Egyptian court has sentenced the former information minister, Anas el-Fekky, to seven years in prison for squandering public funds from the state television union, the latest prison sentence for a member of Hosni Mubarak’s cabinet. Mr. Fekky was amongst the most high profile targets for protesters, in part because of how state media vilified them during an uprising that forced Mr. Mubarak from power. The court has also sentenced Osama el-Sheikh, the former head of the union, to five years on the same charges.

In February, Mr. Fekky was detained on suspicion of profiteering and wasting public funds. The ruling, which was aired on the Egyptian state television, was related to a case in which the two were accused of squandering 9.5 million Egyptian pounds ($1.6 million) by paying over the odds for the television drama series. It said that Mr. Fekky had done this to further his “personal interests as part of an attempt to impose his control and media policies on these stations.” That specific case is still being heard. He was acquitted of separate corruption charges earlier this month, where he had demanded 36 million Egyptian pounds from the finance minister for media campaigns promoting Mr. Mubarak and his ruling party.

Meeting out justice to the formal regime officials has been a driving force behind the protests and frustration among the groups that led the uprising that toppled Mr. Mubarak in February. Activists have accused the military rulers of the country of dragging their feet in the prosecution of Mr. Mubarak’s former cronies.

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