An Egyptian court on Thursday sentenced 14 defendants to 15 years in prison in the case known in the media as “Dispersal of the Rabaa sit-in“, in reference to the events that accompanied the security and army forces' dispersal of a sit-in by supporters of the deposed president Mohamed Morsy By force.
The “Second Circuit – Terrorism” of the Emergency Supreme State Security Court also decided – as part of the retrial of 16 defendants in the case today – to punish one accused with 5 years in prison, and acquitted another accused.
The case included 739 defendants, and in August 2018, the Cairo Criminal Court sentenced 75 to death, including leaders of a group. Muslim Brotherhood Highlight them Essam El-Erian And Abdul Rahman Al-BarrMohamed El-BeltagyIn addition to Safwat Hegazy, Assem Abdel Majed, and…Tariq Al-Zumar AndWajdi Ghoneim.
The court – at that time – sentenced the guide of the Muslim Brotherhood to life imprisonment Mohammad Badee'a And the leader in Center Party Essam Sultan And 45 others. It also sentenced journalist V. in absentia to 15 years in prison Al Jazeera Abdullah Al-Shami.
In the same case, the court sentenced Osama, the son of deposed President Mohamed Morsi, to 10 years in prison. The share was of the photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zaid, known as “Two thorns“Sentenced to 5 years’ imprisonment.
The prosecution charged the defendants with “organizing an armed gathering and participating in it.” In Rabaa Square Contagion, blocking roads, restricting people’s freedom of movement, premeditated murder of citizens and police forces charged with dispersing their gatherings, attempted premeditated murder, and intentionally disrupting the flow of transportation.”
It was decided to disperse the Rabaa sit-in in support of deposed President Mohamed Morsi by the Public Prosecution, and the decision was implemented at dawn on August 14, 2013, as army military vehicles and police armored vehicles stormed the square from all its entrances, and security snipers rained bullets on the demonstrators and closed in on the protesters.
About a thousand protesters were killed in the dispersal of the sit-in, according to human rights sources. Human Rights Watch described what happened as the largest mass killing in the modern history of Egypt, while official reports spoke of the killing of dozens of officers and soldiers.
On the official side, the Forensic Medicine Authority announced only 377 victims, while the National Council for Human Rights (governmental) reported 632 people.