CAIRO, Oct 26 (Aswat Masriya) An Egyptian misdemeanor court sentenced on Sunday 17 "supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood" to five years in prison on charges of rioting and attempting to sever the constitutional referendum earlier this year. 

The defendants were all fined with 50 thousand Egyptian pounds each and will undergo a probation period of another five years, according to a judicial source. 

A referendum on Egypt's constitution was held on January 15 and 16. 

The prosecution accused the defendants of "torching a police station in Cairo's Heliopolis area, attacking security forces, resisting the authorities, rioting, illegal gathering, joining an armed terrorist organisation and possessing flammable objects.

Egypt has witnessed recurring acts of violence since the ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July 2013 following mass protests against his rule. The security forces arrested thousands of supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood on the backdrop of violent confrontations where hundereds were killed.