Trial of 119 MB members begins in Sohag

The trial of 119 Muslim Brotherhood members began on Monday at the Sohag Criminal Court.

The defendants are accused of committing acts of violence following the dispersal of two Brotherhood protest camps in Cairo last August, the state-owned Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported.

The defendants, 54 of whom were identified as fugitives, face charges of using firearms in clashes with police forces, burning the Sohag Archbishopric and attacking other Coptic houses of worship, illegal assembly, using force to confront authorities, murder, attempted murder, burning police trucks, vandalizing public and private property, inciting violence and terrorizing citizens.

The case dates back to the fatal clearing of the Rabea al-Adaweya and Nahda Square sit-ins on August 14, which claimed the lives of hundreds of the Islamist organization's supporters. The defendants allegedly blocked Thaqafa Square on that day, sparking violent confrontations with police forces that entailed the use of live ammunition.

The defendants were also accused of attacking civilians and burning the archbishopric and Mar Girguis Church adjacent to the square. They also allegedly hijacked a police truck, burned it and fired heavy volleys of live ammunition at police forces.

Also on Monday, the assailant who allegedly detonated a homemade bomb in front of the Radoubis Cinema on January 24 was arrested, MENA reported.

The bombing was one of a string of explosions across Cairo on that day that began with an attack on the Cairo Security Directorate.

The suspect was arrested in the northern governorate of Monufiya. Police forces reportedly confiscated three machine guns, a pellet gun and 35 bullets in the course of the arrest.

Security authorities claimed the suspect was connected to jihadi terrorist organizations, and had traveled to Libya and Syria to take part in the fighting there. The suspect may also be implicated in two other cases being investigated by the National Security apparatus, as well as incidents of violence with other Brotherhood members in the Talbeya and Omraneya districts.