Egypt court adjourns trial of 494 protesters to January

A criminal court in Cairo adjourned the trial of 494 protesters yesterday until the new year, Egyptian media has reported. The protesters were arrested around and inside the Al-Fatah Mosque after the violent dispersal of the Rabaa sit-in in 2013 following the Egyptian coup by current President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.

The trial of the protesters, who were accused of attacking the police and civilians on August 16-17 2013, was adjourned to January 17, 2017, according to Moheet.com.

The Egyptian news website claimed that investigations into the incidents found that the protesters were affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood and they took to the streets as part of what was known “Rage Friday” in a protest against the coup that toppled Egypt’s first and only democratically elected leader, Mohamed Morsi.

According to the investigations, the protesters, who stayed inside the Al-Fatah Mosque in Cairo, prevented people from performing prayers and launched attacks on bystanders outside, including policemen and drivers.

However, strong evidence and witnesses all suggest that the protesters were barricaded inside the mosque by security forces and the police fired tear gas and live bullets at them, killing at least two men and a woman.

Among the protesters on trial is Irish citizen Ibrahim Halawa, who was arrested when he was 17 and has been deemed a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International.