The Cairo Criminal Court, headed by Judge Mohamed Nagy Shehata, has sentenced 183 defendants to death and one minor to 10 years in prison, for the Kardasa murders, Anadolu agency has reported.
The prosecution had accused 188 defendants, including 34 fugitives, of storming the Kardasa police station and murdering and mutilating the bodies of 11 police officers, in addition to the attempted murder of 10 officers, torching police cars and vehicles, and possessing heavy firearms.
On 2 December, the court postponed the decision over 185 defendants and sent their papers to the Mufti in preparation for the issuance of death sentences against them. The Mufti confirmed the sentence against 183 defendants and decided to sentence a minor to 10 years in prison. The remaining defendant passed away before the final sentence was made.
The Mufti’s verdict, a copy of which was made available to Anadolu agency, reads: “The crimes that the defendants are accused of were committed by a group that had been assigned [to commit them] in accordance with a plan that allocated roles to each of them. They included those who murdered, those who stole, those who torched, and those who secured the route for the murderers to carry out their crime, in addition to those who supplied the murderers with information.”
“There are also those who tried to block the way in front of anyone who tried to save the victims,” the Mufti added. “They included those who inciting others, via microphones from mosques and houses, against the police and army. The elements of haraba crime apply to the defendants, and thus they deserve the death penalty.”
This ruling, along with a further ruling issued by Judge Said Sabry in Minya, involve the biggest number of death sentences issued against defendants in the events that followed the dispersal of the Rabaa and Nahda protest camps.
On 21 June 2014, Judge Said Sabry sentenced 183 defendants to death after he referred the papers of 683 cases to the Mufti to consult him on their fate. Monday’s ruling was issued by Judge Nagy Shehata against 183 out of 185 defendants whose papers had been referred to the Mufti.
On 24 January, the Court of Cassation cancelled the former ruling and allocated another court circuit for a retrial for the defendants. Those sentenced in Monday’s ruling are expected to resort to the same procedure, according to a source from their defence team.
According to Egyptian law, Monday’s court decision is a preliminary ruling that may be appealed in front of the Court of Cassation, which may decide to confirm the decision or order a re-trial in a different judicial circuit.