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Port Said soccer riot verdicts

March 9, 2013

An Egyptian court has handed down more than a dozen prison sentences over a deadly 2011 soccer riot in Port Said, while acquitting 28 other people. The court also confirmed the death sentences of 21 other defendants.

https://p.dw.com/p/17u7I
Judges of the Port Said Criminal Court, holding a hearing in Cairo for security reasons, rules in the case of last year's soccer violence in Port Said which left over 70 dead in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, March 9, 2013. An Egyptian court has confirmed death sentences handed down against 21 people for their role in a deadly 2012 soccer riot that killed more than 70 people in the city of Port Said. (Ahmed Abd El Latef, El Shorouk Newspaper) EGYPT OUT
Gericht in Kairo bestätigt Todesstrafe wegen FußballkrawallenImage: picture-alliance/AP

The Cairo court on Saturday sentenced five people to life in prison and 11 others to 15-year jail terms, over a 2012 soccer riot between fans of the al-Ahly and al-Masry soccer clubs that killed 74 people.

Among those condemned to prison, former Port Said security chief Major General Essam Samak received a 15-year sentence. But at least seven other security officers were among those acquitted of charges. Angry al-Ahly fans set ablaze Egypt's soccer federation headquarters as well as a police officers' club in Cairo in response to the acquittals.

Although the court upheld the 21 death sentences handed down on January 28, under Egyptian law the country's mufti - the government's interpreter of Islamic law - still has to sign off on them. The death sentences led to riots in Port Said in January that killed 40 people, many of them shot by police.

Deadly soccer riot

In February 2012, a riot broke out between the visiting al-Ahly club from Cairo and the Port Said hosts, al-Masry, after a Premier League match. Most of those killed in the riot were al-Ahly fans.

A total of 73 people have been charged with premeditated murder or negligence over the incident, including sports officials and policemen. Al-Ahly fans, referred to as Ultras, had warned police that they would retaliate if the defendants were exonerated.

The Suez Canal city of Port Said has long complained of marginalization by the capital Cairo. There have been regular clashes between protesters and police in the city since the 21 death sentences were issued. Protesters have targeted symbols of the Muslim Brotherhood, which backs Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. The Brotherhood was forced to abandon its Port Said headquarters after it came under attack.

Residents of Port Said have complained that those sentenced to death were made scapegoats by President Morsi, who they claim is unwilling to confront the well-organized and sometimes violent Cairo soccer fans.

slk/rc (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)