An Egyptian court Wednesday sentenced to life 230 activists from the 2011 revolt against long-time president Hosni Mubarak, including leading campaigner Ahmed Douma, judicial sources said.

An Egyptian court Wednesday sentenced to life 230 activists from the 2011 revolt against long-time president Hosni Mubarak, including leading campaigner Ahmed Douma, judicial sources said.

Thirty-nine others, all minors, were jailed for 10 years.

All 269 defendants were convicted of taking part in clashes with security forces near Cairo's Tahrir Square in December 2011, the sources said.

They were also found guilty of assaulting security forces and setting on fire government buildings.

A life sentence in Egypt is 25 years.

The verdict, which can be appealed, is the harshest delivered so far against non-Islamist activists amid a government crackdown on opponents overseen by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Hundreds of Islamist supporters of Mubarak's successor, Mohamed Mursi, have been sentenced to death after often speedy trials described by the United Nations as "unprecedented in recent history."

Douma, 26, rose to prominence during the 2011 uprising that drove Mubarak from power and was also a key protest leader against Mursi.

He is already serving three years for violating a law prohibiting protests without a permit, and was also given a three year sentence at a previous hearing of the current trial for insulting the judiciary.

Defense lawyer Sameh Samir criticized Wednesday's ruling.

"The judge was biased against the defendants and their lawyers since the start of the trial," Samir said.

"He referred the defense lawyers to prosecution, he barred us from attending the hearings and now he has issued an unprecedented verdict in Egypt's history."

At a previous hearing, Judge Shehata had called for the prosecution to investigate five defense lawyers for insulting the judiciary.