Egypt refers 3 people to criminal court for violating gathering ban amid coronavirus

Egypt has referred on Sunday three people to criminal court for “holding a gathering”, violating the country’s stringent measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Egyptian prosecution said it had received a number of complaints from Rehab district residents against a tenant for “holding a concert in violation of the cabinet’s decision to suspend such activities as a preventive measure against the spread of coronavirus.”

In a statement, the prosecution added that three defendants, two Egyptians and a Jordanian, were arrested at a villa in New Cairo’s Rehab district on charges of “holding parties” during curfew hours.

According to the police investigations, the defendants have the habit of holding loud concerts at the villa with the attendance of crowds. They allegedly used social media to invite youth to their parties for “illegal profit”, the investigations showed.

The defendants have denied all charges, as they claimed that they were at the villa to attend a Ramadan iftar gathering.

This is the first time for the country to refer such a case to the court amid restrictions imposed by the state to limit the spread of the virus.

Since March, Egyptian government has imposed a night curfew, ban on mass gatherings to avoid crowding, shut down schools and suspended flights at airports nationwide.