Court reduces death sentences for 7 defendants to life imprisonment, upholds life sentences for 14 others
The Court of Cassation overturned death sentences on Sunday against seven defendants in Case 851/2015, issuing life sentences for them instead, according to lawyer Amr Ahmed.
As part of the same ruling, the court also upheld life sentences for another 14 defendants in the case, Ahmed told Mada Masr.
Defendants in the case face a range of charges, including attempted murder of security forces, obstructing the work of state bodies, establishing and funding an illegal group, weapons theft and the manufacture of explosives.
The Giza Criminal Court had issued a verdict against all 26 defendants in the case on October 22, 2017. Eleven defendants — four of whom were sentenced in absentia — were handed preliminary death sentences, 14 received life sentences and one minor, Mahmoud Mohamed, was given a 10-year prison sentence in absentia.
The five defendants sentenced in absentia had not submitted appeals, Ahmed explained.
All defendants, except Mohamed, were also ordered on Sunday to pay LE40,000 compensation for civil damages.
The lawyer explained that defendants sentenced on Sunday can submit another appeal requesting a retrial in the event that the verdict is based on a new interpretation of the law that has no precedent in past cases.
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