Court upholds rulings against defendants in Kerdasa massacre

CAIRO – 24 September 2018: The Court of Cassation announced on Monday upholding Cairo Criminal Court's final rulings issued in July 2017against defendants in Kerdasa massacre.

The final rulings against 156 defendants includedsentencing 80 defendants to life imprisonment, 34 defendants to 15 years in jail, one teenagerdefendant to 10 years in jail, and sentencing 20defendants to death.

The incidents date back to 2013, following the dispersal of Rabaa and Nahda sit-ins, where 14 police officers were brutally killed.

The case included a total of 156 defendants, where 21 of whom were acquitted. The defendants were charged with storming a police station in Kerdasa, a stronghold of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood at the time, and killing 14 police officers and two passers-by. The case is known as the “Kerdasa massacre” in the Egyptian media.

The incident occurred in the aftermath of the violent dispersal of the Rabaa and El-Nahda sit-ins, staged by the Brotherhood to demand the reinstatement of former President Mohamed Morsi.

The initial death sentence was issued against the 20 defendants in April, and the court then referred the case to the Grand Mufti for consultation.