Court Sets Date For Cairo’s Zamalek Club Football Disaster

A Cairo court on Wednesday has set April 18 as the first trial session of 16 people in the case related to the killing of some 20 football fans last month, the second most violent sports incident in decades.

The victims died due to a stampede after being tear-gassed by security forces who tried to prevent them from attending an Egyptian league game at the army-owned Air Defence Stadium in Cairo on 8 February.

On Tuesday, prosecutor- general Hisham Barakat referred 16 defendants from the banned Muslim Brotherhood and Zamalek’s hardcore fan group, the Ultra White Knights, to the criminal court on charges of thuggery, murder, sabotage of buildings and public properties, resisting authorities, and the possession of explosive materials.

The prosecutor general also ordered the arrest of four defendants who are still at large.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the prosecutor general stated that both the Muslim Brotherhood and Ultras White Knights instigated the football disaster in order to blight the economic conference which was held in Sharm El-Sheikh earlier this week.

Source : Ahram online