Egypt court sentences 21 to death; Relatives storm prison
An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced to death 21 people found guilty of involvement in the Port Said soccer stadium disaster in which 74 people died last year.
An Egyptian protester and fan of al-Masry football club waves a flare as
others chant slogans during a demonstration in front of the prison in
the Egyptian Suez Canal city of Port Said on January 25, 2013, calling
for the prisoners who are suspected of killing 74 fans of al-Ahly club
during a football match in February 2012, not to be transferred to Cairo
to attend their trial. A court verdict is due on January 26 in the
trial of dozens of defendants over the worst football disaster in
Egyptian history. Photo by AFP.
The ruling could help reduce prospects of fresh clashes on Egypt's turbulent streets. Soccer fans and families of those killed had threatened more violence if the punishments did not satisfy them, and many had demanded the accused be executed.
The ruling followed nine deaths during protests nationwide on Friday and early on Saturday, held to mark two years since Egypt's revolution forced strongman Hosni Mubarak from power and to accuse President Mohamed Mursi and his Islamist allies of reimposing authoritarian rule.
The judge, Sobhy Abdel Maguid, read out a list of 21 names "referred to the Mufti", a phrase used to denote a death verdict as all such sentences must be reviewed by Egypt's top religious authority.
Seventy-three people have been charged with involvement in the Feb. 1, 2012 disaster at the end of a match between Cairo's Al Ahly and al-Masry, the local side.
Spectators were crushed when panicked crowds tried to escape from the stadium after a post-match pitch invasion by supporters of al-Masry. Others fell or were thrown from terraces, witnesses said.
Many of those who died were supporters of Al Ahly.
The verdicts for others accused will be announced on March 9, said the judge, who had called for calm in the court before and during the reading of the ruling.
In response to the sentences, supporters gathered at Al Ahly club in Cairo cheered. In the courtroom on the outskirts of Cairo, familes of victims clapped and some wept with emotion.
"God is greatest" one shouted, while others held up pictures of the victims.
People gathered near the Port Said prison where most of the suspects were held. State television reported the sound of gunshots and said police fired tear gas in the area.
Relatives of defendants sentenced to death over Egypt's deadliest football disaster on Saturday tried to storm the prison where they were being held, state television said.
The unrest erupted just minutes after an Egyptian court referred the convictions of 21 defendants to the country's top cleric the Grand Mufti for his final authorisation to carry out their death sentences, as is customary.
The ruling followed nine deaths during protests nationwide on Friday and early on Saturday, held to mark two years since Egypt's revolution forced strongman Hosni Mubarak from power and to accuse President Mohamed Mursi and his Islamist allies of reimposing authoritarian rule.
The judge, Sobhy Abdel Maguid, read out a list of 21 names "referred to the Mufti", a phrase used to denote a death verdict as all such sentences must be reviewed by Egypt's top religious authority.
Seventy-three people have been charged with involvement in the Feb. 1, 2012 disaster at the end of a match between Cairo's Al Ahly and al-Masry, the local side.
Spectators were crushed when panicked crowds tried to escape from the stadium after a post-match pitch invasion by supporters of al-Masry. Others fell or were thrown from terraces, witnesses said.
Many of those who died were supporters of Al Ahly.
The verdicts for others accused will be announced on March 9, said the judge, who had called for calm in the court before and during the reading of the ruling.
In response to the sentences, supporters gathered at Al Ahly club in Cairo cheered. In the courtroom on the outskirts of Cairo, familes of victims clapped and some wept with emotion.
"God is greatest" one shouted, while others held up pictures of the victims.
People gathered near the Port Said prison where most of the suspects were held. State television reported the sound of gunshots and said police fired tear gas in the area.
Relatives of defendants sentenced to death over Egypt's deadliest football disaster on Saturday tried to storm the prison where they were being held, state television said.
The unrest erupted just minutes after an Egyptian court referred the convictions of 21 defendants to the country's top cleric the Grand Mufti for his final authorisation to carry out their death sentences, as is customary.
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