An Egyptian court has sentenced a researcher to three years in prison in a retrial over charges of "publishing false news".

Researcher Ahmed Samir Santawy, 30, was charged with "publishing false news from abroad" on conditions in the country in a Facebook post on his personal account.

He was sentenced by an exceptional court in a verdict which cannot be appealed.

Mr Santawy's lawyer, Ahmed Ragheb, told the independent Mada Masr website that he would file a request with the recently formed presidential pardon committee to request his client's release.

The researcher was initially sentenced to four years in prison over the same charges in July last year.

However, the verdict was tossed after his lawyers filed a grievance request.

Dozens of domestic and international human rights organisations have been calling for Mr Santawy's release.

Mr Santawy, who studies in Austria, was arrested and detained by security forces on 1 February 2021 while on holiday at home.

His new sentence came one day before the start of a political dialogue with opposition figures in the country on Tuesday.

Dozens of political activists were released ahead of the dialogue.