Egypt: Toddler sentenced to life in prison

CAIRO, EGYPT (CNN) - Family members of a 3-year-old Egyptian boy who was sentenced last week to life in prison say they feel relieved after receiving assurances from officials that neither the boy nor his father will be arrested.

The boy's father, Mansour Qorany Sharara, has returned to the family home in the southern Egyptian province of Fayyoum after nearly 18 months on the run. He had been avoiding authorities who had previously detained him when they came to arrest his young son.

In a surreal verdict, a military court last week found the boy, Ahmed Mansour Qorany Sharara, and 115 other people guilty of killing three people and sabotaging public and private property during a political demonstration in January 2014.

Ahmed was 16 months old at the time of the alleged crime.

The guilty verdict, handed down Feb. 16, provoked an uproar.

"How could people trust justice if they see this?" TV presenter Wael Elebrashy asked Saturday as he interviewed the boy's father in a Cairo studio.

Ahmed was sleeping as his father held him during the interview. Sharara began to cry, pleading for help. He said he was worried his son would be imprisoned.