A torn poster of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi is caught on a military vehicle as riot police clear the area of his supporters at Rabaa Adawiya square, where the protesters had been camping, in Cairo. At least 95 Egyptians were killed in ongoin
CAIRO – 26 May 2018: Cairo Criminal Court, chaired by Counselor Hassan Farid, has been reviewing one of the most important terrorist cases, known as the “Rabaa sit-in dispersal;” Muslim Brotherhood Guide Mohamed Badie and 738 other defendants are accused.
In a few hours, the last hearing session will convene; Egypt Today sums up all pieces of information that you should know about the case as follows:
On December 12, 2015, the first trial was held. Constituency No. (28) related to terrorist cases, affiliated to the Cairo Criminal Court has been in charge of reviewing the case under the chairmanship of counselor Hassan Farid.
Till this moment, 65 hearing sessions were held and 16 sessions were dedicated for defendants’ defense teams. Only 20 out of 350 defendants have not yet been given the chance too present their defense argument. Although there are 739 defendants in this case, only 350 are imprisoned, most notably Badie, Mohamed Beltagy and the son of ousted President Mohamed Morsi.
Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Badie shouts slogans from the defendant’s cage during his trial with other leaders of the Brotherhood in a courtroom in Cairo December 11, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Stringer
On December 10, 2016, Morsi’s son appeared in behind bars for the first time since he was arrested. Four months later (April 17), Beltagi was sentenced to one more year in prison for insulting the court’s judges.
The concerned judges listened to the testimonies of three police major generals including former Cairo Security Directorate Chief Osama al-Sagheir in a closed session. Although former Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim was not enlisted as an eyewitness in this case, the court listened to him upon a request from the defendants’ defense team on February 8, 2018.
The defendants are charged with staging an armed gathering in Rabaa square, illegally possessing and handling weapons, blocking driveways, deliberately vandalizing public property, along with other counts related to murdering policemen and citizens.
Amongst the defendants awaiting Saturday’s trail are members of the top guidance bureau Essam el-Erian, Safwat Hegazy, Mohamed el Beltagy, Usama Yassin, and former president Mohamed Morsi, Essam Maged, Abdel Rahman al-Barr, Safwat Hegazy, Mohamed el-Beltagy, Usama Yassin, Issam Sultan, Basem Odeh, Wagdy Ghoneim and photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zaid (Shawkan) who was on assignment for Demotix.
During the case’s hearing session held in late October, Shawkan 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.
Three defendants were released due to deteriorating health condition. However, all the imprisoned defendants were sentenced to one year in prison for insulting the court on February 25, 2017. Later on, the court overturned the sentence and annulled the one-year imprisonment decision.
Families of the defendants attended most of the 65 sessions. Further, Beltagy and other leading MB members such as Basem Ouda and Amr Zaki were allowed to meet with their families near the cage during some sessions.
On August 14, 2013, Security Forces set out to disperse the Muslim Brotherhood sit-in in Nasr City’s Rabaa al-Adawiya, along with another sit-in located in Nahda Square, 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).
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