26 sentenced to death on terrorism charges
Cairo Criminal Court sentenced 26 defendants to death on Wednesday on charges of forming a terrorist group and manufacturing explosives, with the intent to bomb state buildings and boats coming through the Suez Canal.
The court referred the defendants’ papers to the grand mufti during the first session of the case to approve the sentence, and scheduled the final verdict for March 19. The ruling for the 27th defendant in the case was postponed to the next session.
The defendants were sentenced in absentia. While the state owned Middle East News Agency reports that the defendants have escaped, CNN reports that they had been released earlier pending investigations.
The case states that the crimes had been committed from 2004 to 2009.
In the investigations, the defendants are accused of founding an illegal organization aiming to disrupt state institutions. They are also accused of running a terrorist cell, which targets ships passing through the Suez Canal and foreign companies.
The Suez Canal, one of the major trade routes in the world, is one of the top three revenue earners for Egypt, along with tourism and remittances.
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