A criminal court in Cairo has sentenced six people to death after being found guilty in the case known as “Popular Resistance in Kerdasa”. Forty one others were sentenced to lifetime imprisonment.

Only 13 defendants attended the court which was held at the Police Academy, and the rest of 28 were sentenced in absentia.

The court also sentenced seven defendants to 15 years imprisonment, and three years imprisonment for a juvenile defendant.

Those sentenced to death are Ahmed Abdel Rahman, Mohamed Abdel Latif El Sayed Refai, Mohamed Salah Said, Islam Kamal Aboulfotouh, Islam Mahmoud Abdel Fattah and Fayez Zaki.

The 70 people were facing accusations of establishing and running the “Popular Resistance Committee in Nahya and Kerdasa”, in contravention of the provisions of the constitution and laws. The court said that that committee was aiming to hinder the state’s institutions, as well as violating the laws.

They were also accused of terrorism and the use of violence to achieve the group’s purposes, killing three people including a National Security police officer, and possession of arms and ammunition including TNT explosives.

Egypt witnessed several attacks which targeted police officers, judges, military personnel, and public figures since the dispersal of the Rab’a Al-Adawya sit-in in 14 August 2013, where supporters of former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi were demonstrating against his ouster.

(SOURCE: Egypt Independent)