WATANI International
5 June 2011
The Boulaq misdemeanours court in Cairo has ordered the release of 16 young men who had been detained during the violent skirmishes that occurred at the Coptic sit-in in Maspero last month.
The 18-day sit-in in front of the national TV building in Maspero, Cairo, staged by the Copts to protest the longstanding discrimination and injustice against them, came in the wake of the violent attack by hardline Islamists against the Copts in the Giza district of Imbaba. A week into the sit-in, a group of men of unknown affiliation attacked the Coptic protestors; the skirmishes resulted in some 50 injured and 11 Coptic-owned cars damaged. The police used tear gas to bring matters under control, and arrested 48 suspects.
The prosecution later released 32 and charged 16 with thuggery, assault with white weapons, and damaging property.
Fourteen suspects were acquitted for lack of incriminating evidence, and two were handed a suspended sentence of two years in prison and a fine of EGP500 each.
