"The judge convicted some defendants for joining a terrorist group, but he acquitted Mohammed al-Zawahiri of establishing or joining it," defense lawyer Kamel Mandour told AFP. The judge, however, instructed the prosecution to investigate a speech made by Zawahiri during a court session that he felt "promoted the idea of forming another terrorist group". "The judgment is fair given the prevailing political atmosphere against political Islam in the country," Mandour said.