An Egyptian court sentenced five foreigners to death by hanging for smuggling drugs, an official said.
British citizen Charles Raymond Ferndale, 74, and three citizens of the Seychelles were held in a cage inside the courtroom in the popular tourist destination of Hurghada on the Red Sea coast as the verdict was read out.
The fifth defendant, a Pakistani, escaped during the arrest and was sentenced in absentia.
The convicted men were arrested in 2011 in possession of three tonnes of hashish on board a ship off Egypt’s eastern coast, according to the court official.
The British foreign office said it was extremely concerned at the sentence.
A spokesman said that the consular team in Cairo is opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances and they are in contact with the British prisoner and everything will be done to the utmost to prevent the execution.
The court also fined the defendants a total of 94 million Egyptian pounds ($13.46 million).
The convicted men can appeal the verdict.
Death penalties in Egypt are rarely carried out.