An Egyptian court has sentenced 116 people to life in prison on Wednesday over a 2014 riot case. Four-year-old Ahmad Mansour Karni is among the sentenced, reports Masr Al Arabiyya newspaper and the Independent.

Faisal El Sayed, member of the legal defense team revealed that the case is connected to the murder of protesters in Fayyum and that siblings of the victims are among the defendants. El Sayed also said that the child's name was added by mistake to the list and despite having submitted Karni's birth certificate to the authorities to prove he was born in 2012, the boy was tried by a military court who sentenced the 116 defendants in absentia. "It seems that the judge hasn't read the case's documents," El Sayed was quoted as saying.

News of the trial has triggered a wave of criticism and mockery prompting many to lament the state of Egypt's judicial system. An Egyptian journalist even described the ruling as a 'farce', according to France24.

(Photo: Al Youm Elsabaa / EPA / Landov)