Ultras White Knights leader Sayed Moshagheb soon to be released, says lawyer

After seven years in prison, Ultras White Knights (UWK) leader Sayed Moshagheb is due to be released within days, according to his lawyer, Osama al-Gohary.

Gohary said that judicial authorities miscalculated his sentence, scheduling his release for September 2024.

Moshagheb is likely to be released from Minya Prison in just a few days, once his release paperwork is finalized, Gohary told Mada Masr.

The leader of the Zamalek SC ultra-fan group has been imprisoned since police killed 20 Zamalek fans at the 30 June Air Defense stadium in 2015. In the incident, police used tear gas to disperse crowds at the stadium who were alleged to be there without tickets, causing a stampede in which at least 20 people were crushed.

Moshagheb was arrested in March, and he and other UWK members were accused of killing the fans, joining the banned Muslim Brotherhood group, thuggery, vandalism and possession of fireworks.

Gohary previously told Mada Masr that Moshagheb faced charges in 12 separate cases, including a charge that he broke into a National Security Agency headquarters in 2013, which was later dropped. He was also accused in August 2014 of assaulting Zamalek SC head Mortada Mansour, but was later acquitted of the charge.

Moshagheb was ultimately convicted of attempting to break into the Zamalek club premises and served a one-year prison sentence.

In 2017, he was sentenced to another seven years in prison in the Air Defense Stadium trial on charges of “possession of fireworks, trespassing on public facilities and assaulting security forces.” The Cairo Criminal Court ruled that he should serve an additional three years under police probation after his prison time ends.

Gohary petitioned authorities earlier this year for Moshagheb’s release date to be expedited and for the years he spent in detention, prior to his trial and conviction, to count toward his sentence.

The New Cairo Prosecution ruled in favor of Gohary’s December 19 appeal, he said, and the appropriate paperwork was sent to the Minya Prison, meaning Moshagheb is likely to be released soon.

Tensions between the police and UWK date back to 2011 due to the group’s role in Egypt’s January 2011 revolution, when they were a key part of confrontations with police, where members of the fan club organized marches and sit-ins with rehearsed chants and songs.

Hostilities were exacerbated specifically during a deadly stadium riot that many say was prolonged or even sparked by security forces in February 2012, leading to the suspension of football matches open to public crowds until the 2015 massacre.

Ultras organizations have been banned by the state since then.