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| UPDATES DEATH TOLL - Families and supporters of those accused of soccer violence from the Port Said soccer club react to the announcement of verdicts for 21 fans on trial in last years Port Said stadium incident which left 74 people dead, in Port Said, Egypt, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013. Egyptian security officials say that 38 people have died in the Mediterranean city of Port Said after a judge sentenced 21 people to death in connection to one of the world's deadliest incidents of soccer violence |
CAIRO (AP) --
Relatives and angry young men rampaged through the Egyptian city of
Port Said on Saturday in assaults that killed at least 27 people
following death sentences for local fans involved in the country's worst
bout of soccer violence.
Unrest surrounding
the second anniversary of Egypt's revolution also broke out in Cairo and
other cities for a third day, with protesters clashing for hours with
riot police who fired tear gas that encompassed swaths of the capital's
downtown.
The divisive verdict and bloodshed
highlight challenges being faced by President Mohammed Morsi, who took
office seven months ago following an Egyptian revolution that ousted
autocratic leader Hosni Mubarak.
Critics say Morsi has failed to carry
out promised reforms in the country's judiciary and police force, and
claim little has improved in the two years after the uprising against
Mubarak.
The Islamist leader, Egypt's first
freely elected and civilian president, met for the first time with top
generals as part of the newly formed National Defense Council to discuss
the deployment of troops in two cities. The military was deployed to
Port Said hours after the verdict was announced, and warned that a
curfew could be declared in areas of unrest. The military was also
deployed to the canal city of Suez, where protesters attacked the main
security compound there after eight people were killed late Friday.
Saturday's
riot in Port Said stemmed from animosity between police and die-hard
soccer fans know as Ultras, who also were part of the mass uprising
against Mubarak that began on Jan. 25, 2011, and at forefront of
protests against the military rulers who assumed temporary power after
his ouster.
It also reflected tensions after the uprising that reached into all sectors of Egyptian life, even sports.
Survivors
and witnesses said Mubarak loyalists had a hand in instigating last
year's attack, which began Feb. 1 after Port Said's home team Al-Masry
won a match, 3-1, against Cairo's Al-Ahly. Some say "hired thugs"
wearing green T-shirts posing as Al-Masry fans led the attacks.
Others
say, at the very least, police were responsible for gross negligence in
the Feb. 1 soccer brawl that killed 74 Al-Ahly fans.
Anger
at police was evident in Port Said, home to most of the 73 men accused
of involvement in the bloodshed, although the trial was held outside
Cairo.
Judge Sobhi Abdel-Maguid did not give
his reasoning when he handed down the sentences for 21 defendants.
Executions in Egypt are usually carried out by hanging.
Verdicts
for the remaining 52 defendants, including nine security officials, are
scheduled to be delivered March 9. Some have been charged with murder
and others with assisting the attackers. All the defendants - who were
not present in the courtroom Saturday for security reasons - can appeal
the verdict.
Supporters of those sentenced to
death said they were being used as scapegoats. The rioters attacked the
city's prison after the verdict was read live on state television to try
and free the defendants. A police lieutenant and police officer were
killed in the assault.
Residents also focused
their anger against the government, attacking a power station, the
governor's office and local courthouse. They staged a sit-in along the
main road leading into the city and occupied a police station.
Security
officials said a total of 27 people were killed and some 400 wounded,
many by gunfire, throughout the city. The officials spoke on condition
of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information.
Victims
were killed when police fired tear gas, bird shot and other live
ammunition at the mob. Two soccer players who died- one from Port Said's
Al-Marikh club and the other a former player of its Al-Masry club -
apparently were killed on their way to do training near the prison. One
of the players was shot three times, a local health official said.
Some 220 kilometers (135 miles) away in Cairo, the divisive nature of the trial was on display.
Relatives of those killed at the soccer game erupted in joy in the courtroom after the verdict was announced.
Families
yelled "Allahu Akbar!" Arabic for "God is great" and pumped their fists
in the air. Others held up pictures of the deceased, most of whom were
young men from Cairo's poor neighborhoods. One man fainted while others
hugged. The judge smacked the bench several times to try to restore
calm.
Supporters of Cairo's Al-Ahly celebrated
the verdict in the team's club before heading toward Interior Ministry
headquarters, which manages the police, for more protests.
Lawmakers
had formed a fact-finding committee that found some evidence toward
collusion from authorities, but the evidence was not conclusive.
Nine
of those on trial are security officials, charged with assisting the
attackers for failing to search for weapons as is customary and allowing
known criminals to attend the game. One was a senior officer who locked
the exit designated for Al-Ahly fans. Many victims suffocated or were
trampled to death in the corridor trying to escape the violence. Others
were thrown off bleachers, undressed, beaten with iron bars and had the
words "Port Said" carved into their skin.
Police
reform researcher Karim Ennarah said the lack of a proper investigation
raises the specter that some of those on trial are innocent. The state
prosecutor's office, tasked with investigating the case, was long run by
a Mubarak holdover.
"We still operate in a
state that doesn't hold its employees, specifically in the security
sector, to account," Ennarah said. "There might have been democratic
elections, but it still is a very undemocratic state in terms of how
police work."
The most high profile case since
Egypt's uprising was that of Mubarak himself. He was found guilty of
failing to stop the killing of around 900 protesters. The verdict
angered people who wanted him executed on charges of ordering deadly
force. He was sentenced to life in prison in what even some of his
opponents argue was a verdict based on flimsy evidence aimed at
appeasing an angry public.
A lawyer of one of the defendants given a death sentence Saturday said this verdict too was political.
Days
before the verdict, Morsi declared the victims "martyrs of the
revolution", granting families up to $15,000 in compensation.
"There
is nothing to say these people did anything and we don't understand
what this verdict is based on," Mohammed al-Daw told The Associated
Press by telephone.
"Our situation in Port
Said is very grave because kids were taken from their homes for wearing
green T-shirts," he said, referring to the Al-Masry team color.
The
president, once a detainee under Mubarak for his political activities
with the Brotherhood, had vowed to restore security in his first 100
days in office. Instead, critics say he has waged a personal campaign
against anti-Brotherhood figures rather than carry out comprehensive
reform.
His Muslim Brotherhood allies blamed
"misleading" media outlets for enflaming the public against the
government. The main opposition bloc said it holds Morsi responsible for
"the excessive use of force by the security forces against protesters."
Fans
of Al-Ahly, mostly young men in their teens, promised more violence in
the days leading up to the verdict if the death penalty was not handed
down. Their main Facebook page had called for bloodshed.
"This
was necessary," said Nour al-Sabah, whose 17-year-old son Ahmed Zakaria
died in last year's melee. "Now I want to see the guys when they are
executed with my own eyes, just as they saw the murder of my son."
"We
are not really that happy," Mohamed Ahmed, a survivor of the attack,
said. "The government helped the Ultras of Port Said by blocking the
gates of the stadium until people suffocated to death."
Meanwhile,
Port Said resident and activist Rasha Hammouda said the city wants
those involved in killings to be brought to justice.
"We have no problem with execution of those who killed, but bring everyone who is involved," she said.
