CAIRO, May 28 (RAPSI, Rafael Daminov) - A Cairo district court sentenced Egyptian Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim to two years in prison for disobeying court decisions on Monday.

The presiding judge said that Ibrahim ignored the court ruling to pay compensation to two former prisoners who accused the minister of political persecution. The minister and his representatives did not attend the reading of the verdict.

The judge said that Ibrahim can halt the arrest warrant if he pays bail of 2,000 Egyptian pounds (around $200) and compensation to the plaintiffs.

Egypt's Administrative Court earlier ruled that the Interior Ministry should pay EGP 25,000 ($3,580) in compensation to both of the political prisoners in question. However, Abd El-Aleim Fahim and Ali Mohamed sued Ibrahim for failing to do so.

A month ago, another Cairo court ruled to take Prime Minister Hesham Kandil into custody for a year for not honoring the court's decision on the Tanta textile factory whose workers had sued Kandil.

Kandil's press secretary said that the prime minister would be appealing the decision.

Local observers note that numerous court decisions handed down to members of the ruling government are evidence of a conflict between the Islamists who have recently come to power and the judges who were appointed during the rule of former President Hosni Mubarak.