Egypt puts 75 on trial over football deaths

Cairo: Egypt’s Prosecutor General Abdul Majuid Mahmoud Thursday referred 75 people to a criminal court trial on charges of involvement in the country’s worst football rioting, according to judicial sources.

The defendants include nine policemen, three sports officials and two minors, added the sources. There was no immediate word about the identities of other defendants.

Seventy-four people were killed on February 1 when fans invaded the pitch in the coastal city of Port Said following a football match between the hosts Al Masry and Al Ahly, one of Egypt’s top clubs. 

The tragedy triggered angry protests against the country’s military rulers and the police over alleged negligence in securing the match.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, protesters, mainly football fans, battled security forces near the headquarters of the Interior Ministry in Cairo for five days. Similar clashes occurred in some other Egyptian cities.

Seven senior policemen, to stand the same trial, have already been arrested and are being kept in custody. They include the former chief of the Port Said Security Department and three ex-security aides. No date has been set for the trial.