Egypt

Violence erupts at trial of accused protester killers

Clashes broke out at a trial over revolution protester deaths Thursday as the angry families of the victims scuffled with defendants' families.   

Court security eventually contained the fighting, which broke out when some plaintiffs injured during the 2011 demonstrations in Suez rescinded claims they had filed against four defendants accused of shooting protesters.

The defendants, businessman Ibrahim Farag and his three sons, Aboud, Sayed and Adel Farag, say they were protecting their properties from attack during the revolution. Their attorney asked the court on Thursday to consider claims Ibrahim Farag had previously filed reporting the alleged attacks and also asked that the four men be released on bail.

 The defense also called for Central Security officer Ashraf Abdallah to testify.

The Suez Criminal Court is convening the trial at Cairo's Police Academy due to security concerns.

In addition to the Farag family, 10 police and security officials including the Suez security chief are facing charges of killing protesters during the uprising, which led to the resignation of former President Hosni Mubarak on 11 February 2011.

An estimated 18 protesters were killed in Suez during the revolution protests and 300 were injured.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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