The Cairo Criminal Court sentenced 16 suspects to life in prison, and three others to 15 years for their connections to the formation of the terrorist al-Nusra Front organization.
The State Security Prosecution had previously referred them to the state security criminal court and ordered the arrest of fugitive suspects in the case.
Investigations revealed that the first defendant formed and led a terrorist group aimed at disrupting the implementation of the constitution and laws, preventing state institutions and public authorities from practicing their duties, assaulting civilian and public freedoms and harming national unity and social peace.
He is also accused of leading a terrorist group, affiliated with al-Qaeda, which calls for overthrowing the ruling regime, fighting the armed forces and police and destroying public establishment. It also calls for killing Christians and seizing their money, and seizing civilian private properties with the aim of disturbing public order and endangering the safety and security of society.
Meanwhile, the Department of Terrorism of Tura Courts Complex postponed to June 23 the re-trial of two defendants, who had been sentenced in absentia to seven years in prison.
The case dates back to 2013 when security forces dispersed the Muslim Brotherhood sit-in. The suspects are convicted of inciting violence in Cairo’s May 15 district.
The order stated that the defendants “participated in a demonstration without a license designed to destabilize the country. They joined a group that was established contrary to the provisions of the law and uses force and violence to achieve its goals.”
