Court sentences five to life on terrorism charges
The Cairo Criminal Court sentenced five defendants to life in prison for attempting to bomb the Ministry of Interior, as well as for forming a "jihadist cell" in cooperation with the Palestinian resistance group Hamas to execute "terrorist operations", the state-owned Middle East News Agency reported Monday.
The court ruling said the five defendants had escaped prison during the security vacuum in January 2011 to form a terrorist group in an effort to prevent state institutions from performing their duties, threaten the national fabric by inciting sectarianism and threaten personal freedoms.
According to the court, the defendants also planned to bomb the Interior Ministry in February 2012, following the massacre of over 70 soccer fans during a Port Said football match, but did not go through with the attack because of the devastation it could cause in the downtown area.
Investigations also showed that the defendants were in close contact with members of Hamas, who provided funding, knowledge on how to produce bombs, and information on other activities.
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