.

Egypt’s Morsi declares ‘state of emergency’

(BBC News) – Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has declared a 30-day state of emergency and a night-time curfew in three cities along the Suez Canal that have seen deadly clashes in recent days.

In a televised address late on Sunday, Morsi said the emergency measures in Port Said, Ismailia and Suez would take effect on Monday from 9 pm to 6 am, warning to take more action to stem the latest eruption of violence across much of the country. He also called for dialogue with top politicians starting on Monday to resolve.

Deadly clashes between protesters and police have killed at least 48 people since Friday, when Egyptians commemorated the two-year anniversary of the revolution that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak.

{Update1} At least 30 killed in Suez – Egypt port hit by lethal riots after football fans given death sentence. More below the fold!

{Update2} Original title: Egypt In Chaos: Verdict of 21 Death Sentences In Stadium Riot

2nd Anniversary Uprising – New protests lead to nine deaths, armed forces deployed in Suez

(Egypt Independent) – At least eight deaths were reported in the Suez Governorate late Friday, as well as one death in Ismailia, according to medical and security sources in the area, after protests there turned violent on the day marking the 25 January 2011 uprising, where the first martyr also fell in Suez.

Reports say armed forces have been deployed in Suez to secure strategic institutions. Armed Personnel Carriers and army vehicles were sighted in the governorate. Sources told Al-Masry Al-Youm that six protesters and two security forces have been killed in the clashes. Officials also said 280 people have been injured in the city, according to Reuters.

Violence flares in Egypt as thousands protest President Mursi’s “power grab”

Egypt Soccer Riot: Death Toll Climbs As Police Set Off Tear Gas – Feb. 2012

There are also reports of a death in Ismailia, raising the death toll to nine in two governorates. The Health Ministry has reported only seven deaths, and more than 450 injuries in separate governorates.

There were calls for major protests in Upper Egypt, Nile Delta and the North Coast, including the governorates of Aswan, Qena, the Red Sea, Assiut, Minya, Gharbiya, Kafr al-Sheikh, Damietta, Daqahlia, Suez and Alexandria.

Following 21 death sentences cheers in Cairo, another 31 die in Suez riots, more below the fold …

21 Port Said football massacre defendants sentenced to death

(Egypt Independent) – A Cairo court sentenced 21 of the defendants of the Port Said football fans’ massacre to death on Saturday morning. The fate of the rest of the 75 defendants is to be determined in another hearing set for 9 March. None of the 21 defendants sentenced to death are among the five senior policemen accused in the case.

Although security sources previously announced that no defendants will show up, those policemen were present in the courtroom at the Police Academy in New Cairo. Shortly before the sentence was pronounced by the judge, the court’s secretary called the names of five senior security officers accused in the case, including the former head of Port Said’s security directorate and four of his aides.

The courtroom was already filled with families of the victims, who chanted, “God of the oppressed, give us justice“, “we only want justice” and “police are thugs.”

Anger and joy follow Port Said football massacre verdict

Families of defendants sentenced to death in the Port Said football massacre case stormed the area of the Port Said prison where their sons are incarcerated, in protest of the ruling pronounced by a Cairo court on Saturday morning.
Police intervened to disperse the families of the defendants as well ultras of the Masry club who congregated around the prison in Port Said. They threw tear gas canisters at the families.

Families heard rumors that their sons were being taken away from the prison, but Ibrahim Soliman, the head of the Port Said prison, tranquilized the them and told them that there is no intention to transfer them.

Other defendants’ families and ultras blocked the main Mohamed Ali Street leading to the premises of the Port Said governorate, while another group blocked the gates of a major textile industrial complex that employs some 20 thousand workers.

Riot kills 22 31 in Egypt after verdict death sentences for soccer hooligans plus CNN VIDEO

In a contrasting scene, the Ahly ultras erupted in cheers near the club in Cairo, following the verdict.

Similarly, families of those killed in the massacre expressed their happiness with the ruling. “I only got my son’s rights today,” said the mother of Islam Mohamed, who was killed last February. The mother who accompanied the Ahly ultras in their gathering in Cairo ahead of the verdict, thanked the group for their support. “If it wasn’t for the ultras, we wouldn’t get that ruling.”

“Today, the families of the martyrs can sleep comfortably,” said the mother of the deceased Hamou Taha. “Today is the wedding of my son.”

Port Said trial verdict to prove decisive for both sides

Egypt drops hundreds of charges over post-Mubarak violence

CAIRO (Reuters) Jan. 19, 2013 – An Egyptian court dismissed cases against 379 people accused of involvement in clashes with police during protests near the Interior Ministry in November 2011 in which 42 demonstrators were killed, the state news agency reported.

Saturday’s decision was based on President Mohamed Mursi’s offer of an amnesty for those facing charges related to events during and after the 2011 uprising that ended the 30-year rule of Hosni Mubarak, the agency reported.

0 0 votes
Article Rating