Hearing session of 213 Ansar Bait al-Maqdis members trial continues

CAIRO – 7 July 2018: The Cairo Criminal Court is holding a Saturday sequential hearing session in the trial of 213 members of Ansar Bait al-Maqdis over accusations of committing 54 terrorist crimes.

The defendants are accused of murdering police officers, soldiers and civilians; an assassination attempt of former interior minister Mohamed Ibrahim; bombing several security facilities; and executing a number of terrorist operations.

The jihadist extremist militant group, Ansar Bait al-Maqdis (Supporters of Jerusalem), emerged from the chaos in Sinai that started with the uprising in January 2011; in mid-2013, it initiated attacks on security forces, declaring the Egyptian army and police apostates that can be killed.

The group is believed to have been the main group behind the militant activity in the Sinai; it pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) in November 2014, then renamed itself ISIL-Sinai Province.

The defendants also face charges of joining a terrorist group aiming at disrupting the country's national security and public order, collaborating with a foreign organization to sabotage state institutions, and illegal possession of arms and ammunition.

Investigations showed that the defendants were trained in the camps of Ezzel Din Qassam, the military wing of Palestinian movement Hamas and that they plotted to target ships transiting the Suez Canal.

Investigations also showed that ousted president Mohamed Morsi was in contact with the militant group leaderships while he was in power and that they agreed that Hamas would not carry out any terrorist attacks while he was in office.

The 54 terrorist crimes the defendants are implicated in had left 42 police officers and 15 civilians dead and 349 others wounded.

Ansar Beit El Maqdis has claimed responsibility for most of the major attacks against security forces and their installations, with the deadliest assaults taking place in Sinai.

On July 5, The Cairo Criminal Court sentenced on 20 outlawed Muslim Brotherhood (MB) loyalists to 10 to 25 years in prison over forming a terrorist cell that targeted policemen, soldiers and judges.

href="https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/1/53412/20-MB-loyalists-sentenced-up-to-25-years-over-terror">20 MB loyalists sentenced up to 25 years over terror charges

CAIRO - 5 July 2018: The Cairo Criminal Court sentenced on Thursday 20 outlawed Muslim Brotherhood (MB) loyalists to 10 to 25 years in prison over forming a terrorist cell that targeted policemen, soldiers and judges.

At some point in late 2013 and early 2014, senior MB leader Mohamed Kamal and others, including many younger generation leaders and supporters, set up ‘special operations committees’ to execute small-scale attacks.

The committees were formed as part of a ‘disorientation and attrition’ strategy that was directed against the Egyptian government.

Six of the defendants were sentenced to 15 years in prisons, while the other 14 defendants were sentenced to life in prison.