CAIRO, June 6 (Aswat Masriya)-The Cairo criminal court handed on Monday a life sentence and a ten year in prison sentence to two people on charges on photographing police facilities.

The defendant who received the lifetime imprisonment sentence, was tried in abstentia. The other is a student at Al-Azhar University, said a judicial source. 

Prosecution charged them with photographing several police facilities and giving the photos to "terrorist groups" to implement militant activities that target security personnel.

Both defendants are also accused of joining a protest that "violated public order."  

The source told Aswat Masriya that the incident dates back to late 2015. 

The Azhar student was arrested with photos of Helwan police station and police cars in his possession, the judicial source said

He added that the student was previously involved in "terrorist activities."

Attacks targeting security personnel and buildings have been on the rise since the military ouster of former president Mohamed Mursi in July 2013, after mass protests against his rule. 

Azhar University and many other universities across Egypt became the scene of repeated clashes between student supporters of the ousted Islamist president and security forces starting July 2013.

Dozens of students in Azhar University have been arrested and subjected to suspension or expulsion over the past two years.

Dozens of journalists and photojournalists, including citizen journalists, have also been arrested over the past few years since Mursi's ouster.