An Egyptian human rights lawyer has been jailed for five years and sentenced to 300 lashes in Saudi Arabia.

Ahmed al-Gizawi was convicted by a court in Jeddah for carrying anti-anxiety medication which is banned in Saudi Arabia. The lawyer had been arrested in April at Jeddah airport with Xanax, the anti-anxiety drug banned in the kingdom.

The case resulted in a deterioration in diplomatic relations between the two countries, which involved Egyptians protesting and Saudi Arabia recalling its ambassador from Cairo.