Egyptian judicial sources said Thursday that the attorney general would soon announce the results of an investigation into the violence that erupted in Port Said early this month after a football match between the Ahly and Masry teams, which killed at least 71 people.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the sources said the attorney general is referring more than 50 suspects to a criminal court, including three Port Said security officials, who are charged with negligence that caused the deaths and the injury of more than 200 people.
The Lawyers Syndicate said that it has assigned a defense team to represent the families of the victims, and that the attorney general’s order for the suspects to appear in court would be issued within a few days and would hold many surprises, especially regarding the names of the suspects.
At its Thursday meeting the syndicate said it has obtained important information that it would not divulge until investigations are over.
Syndicate spokesperson Abdel Aziz al-Derini said that turning off the stadium lights during the incident made it difficult to identify perpetrators in the surveillance camera recordings.
The fact-finding committee that was formed by the syndicate said in its report that eyewitness testimonies confirmed beyond doubt that security services were greatly involved from the beginning until the end of the incident, deliberately making sure the largest number of deaths occurred.
22 suspects in the violence have been released after spending 15 days in custody pending investigations, while prosecutors ordered the arrest of others who appeared on security footage.
Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
