Egypt court sentences 11 to death over 2012 soccer riot

Court Alerts

An Egyptian criminal court from the Mediterranean city of Port Said on Tuesday sentenced 11 people to death over a 2012 soccer riot that killed more than 70 people and injured hundreds in what was Egypt's worst soccer disaster to date and one of the world's deadliest.

The verdict, read by presiding judge Mohammed el-Said, came at the end of the retrial of 73 defendants in a case that sparked deadly riots in 2013 in Port Said, prompting then-President Mohammed Morsi to declare a state of emergency in the city.

The court also sentenced 40 defendants to up to 15 years in prison and acquitted the rest. The verdicts can be appealed.

The hearings in the case, including the sentencing on Tuesday, were held in Cairo, not in Port Said, for security reasons.

The earlier trial ended in March 2013, when 21 defendants were sentenced to death, while others received jail terms that ranged from one to 25 years in prison. Twenty-eight were acquitted. The rulings were appealed and a retrial was ordered by Egypt's Court of Cassation in February last year.

The February 2012 riot began at the end of a league match in Port Said between Cairo's Al-Ahly, Egypt's most successful club, and home side Al-Masry. The riot led to the temporary suspension of Egypt's top flight soccer league. The league later resumed, but with matches played in empty stadiums.

Related listings

  • New Jersey's top court sides with Christie on pensions

    New Jersey's top court sides with Christie on pensions

    Court Alerts 06/10/2015

    New Jersey's top court sided with Gov. Chris Christie on Tuesday, giving him a major victory in a fight with public worker unions over pension funds and sparing a new state budget crisis.     The state Supreme Court overturned a lower-court...

  • Oscar Pistorius case: Court sets November for appeal

    Oscar Pistorius case: Court sets November for appeal

    Court Alerts 06/07/2015

    Oscar Pistorius' case will go in front of South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal in November, the court said Monday, when prosecutors will challenge the decision to acquit him of murder for shooting girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Pistorius would again f...

  • Court upholds sentence for son of Schwarzenegger ally

    Court upholds sentence for son of Schwarzenegger ally

    Court Alerts 06/03/2015

    A California appeals court on Tuesday upheld former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's decision to dramatically reduce the manslaughter sentence of a political ally's son, saying his conduct may be considered wrong but it didn't violate any laws.   On...

New York Commercial Litigation Law Firm - Woods Lonergan PLLC

Founded in 1993 by Managing Partner James F. Woods, Woods Lonergan PLLC has built a strong reputation as a resourceful and industrious firm that provides clients with clear, concise, and straightforward answers to their most challenging legal issues. Partner Lawrence R. Lonergan, who joined the firm in 2008, has been a friend and colleague to Mr. Woods for over 40 years and shares the same business philosophy. Woods Lonergan PLLC’s collective experience and expertise enables the firm to expeditiously and effectively analyze the increasing challenges clients face in an evolving business and legal world, in many instances, avoiding unnecessary time and expense to our clients. Our mission is simple: provide cutting-edge expertise and sound advice in select areas of the law for corporate and business clients. We thrive on providing each client with personalized attention, forceful representation, and a collaborative team effort that embraces collective knowledge.

Business News

New York & New Jersey Family Law Matters We represent our clients in all types of proceedings that include termination of parental rights. >> read