Cairo: An Egyptian court on Sunday handed down death sentences to 11 people charged with involvement in Egypt’s worst football tragedy more than three years ago.
The Criminal Court, holding its proceedings at the Police Academy on the outskirts of Cairo, referred the sentences to the country’s chief Islamic authority, the Grand Mufti, to approve or reject them — a routine legal procedure related to death sentences.
The final verdict has been set for May 30.
The court said it will also sentence 62 other defendants in the same case on May 30.
None of the defendants’ families were allowed to attend Sunday’s court session for security reasons, legal sources said.
The high-profile case is related to the death of 74 people in a riot at a stadium in the coastal city of Port Saeed in February 2012 following a match between the home team Al Masry and Egypt’s top club side Al Ahly.
The defendants include nine police officers and three officials from Al Masry club, while the rest are fans of Al Masry club.
Two of those sentenced to death are on the run.
The incident prompted Egyptian authorities to scrap the domestic competition, the Premier League, for that season.
The 2012 clashes in the Port Saeed stadium sparked days of violent protests in Cairo that led to the death of 16 more people in confrontations with security forces.
A year later, dozens of people were killed again in the city during clashes that erupted after the lower court handed down 21 death sentences to accused in the case.
The Port Saeed riots were the deadliest sports-related riots in Egypt. The authorities reacted by imposing a ban on fans attending club matches and held the games behind closed doors.
But on February 8, at least 19 people died in a stampede after police fired tear gas at fans trying to force their way into a Cairo stadium for a club match that was open to the public.
Television footage showed crowds squeezed inside a narrow metal enclosure, jostling to enter the stadium when the stampede erupted as police fired tear gas.
The police reject the accusations and blame the unrest on Islamists. Sixteen suspects accused of clashing with police on that day have been arrested and referred to trial.
In March 2013, a court sentenced to death 21 of the defendants, sparking a massive riot in Port Saeed. The other co-defendants were given varying jail sentences.
Last year, Egypt’s top appeals court ordered a retrial for all the defendants. The retrial began last August.
Clashes between supporters of rival football teams or incidents involving football fans and security forces are rather common in Egypt.
Earlier this year, 20 people died in a stampede outside an army stadium near Cairo after police fired tear gas reportedly to prevent die-hard fans from entering without tickets to attend a Premier League match.
The incident prompted a brief suspension of the competition.
Egypt’s hard-core football fans, the “ultras”, have often clashed with police, including in political unrest that has seen two presidents toppled since 2011.
The “ultras” were at the forefront of protests against long-time autocrat Hosni Mubarak, who stepped down in early 2011 after an 18-day uprising against his rule.
That uprising was essentially against the police, who were regularly accused of torturing detainees and of being involved in extra-judicial executions.
— With inputs from AFP
