Court adjourns Rabaa sit-in dispersal case

CAIRO – 31 October 2017: The hearing session for the case publicly known as the “Rabaa sit-in dispersal” was adjourned to November 7. Several witnesses remain to be questioned by the court.

The defendants in the case include photojournalist Shawkan, along with top Muslim brotherhood group leaders including Mohammed Badie, Safwat Hegazi, Mohammed al-Beltagy, Usama Yassin, Essam Sultan and Bassem Ouda, who face charges related to staging an armed sit-in and deliberately damaging vital state institutions.

The court heard the testimonies of a number of witnesses including photojournalist Shawkan, who was allowed to address the judge directly. He said that he was only doing his job as a press photographer and that he was among other photographers who were called on by the government to cover the events of the Rabaa sit-in dispersal.

On August 14, 2013, security forces dispersed the Muslim Brotherhood sit-in in Nasr City’s Rabaa al-Adawiya, along with another sit-in in Nahda Square in Giza.

The Rabaa al-Adawiya sit-in was primarily forged by former Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated President Mohamed Morsi supporters and sympathizers in support of his legitimacy.

Damage to the surrounding area as a result of the dispersal amounted to LE 50 million ($2.8 million).