The retrial of the case against Islamic Jihad leaders known as “The Returnees from Albania” resumed on Monday.
The case, which is being tried in an Egyptian military court, held its second hearing against defendants Sayed Imam, Mohamed al-Zahahry and Morgan Salem. Previous verdicts against the defendants ranged from five years imprisonment to the death penalty.
The accused denied the charges leveled against them, including premeditated murder, terrorism and attempting to topple the regime, accusations which the defense team said were fabricated by the Mubarak regime.
The original "Returnees" case was heard in 1999, and included over 100 terror suspects, many of whom were forcibly returned to Egypt from abroad by means of the extraordinary rendition program run by the United States government. Since the Egyptian uprising earlier this year, several of the men originally convicted in the case have claimed that their convictions were based on false evidence and have demanded retrials.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
