Verne Strickland Blogmaster / January 27, 2013
ANCIENT EGYPT -- LAND OF THE PHARAOHS, CAPTOR OF THE JEWS, IS NOW CHAOTIC THIRD WORLD WASTELAND. CAIRO BURNS AFTER CARNAGE OVER A SOCCER SCORE. SEND IN HILLARY!
STORY NOT WORTH A HEADLINE. TOTALLY ABSURD!
CAIRO — Angry relatives and residents rampaged through an
Egyptian port city Saturday in rioting that killed at least 27 people
after a judge sentenced nearly two dozen soccer fans to death for
involvement in deadly violence after a game last year.
The unrest was the latest in a bout of violence that has left a total
of 38 people dead in two days, including 11 killed in clashes between
police and protesters marking Friday's second anniversary of the
uprising that overthrew longtime leader Hosni Mubarak.
President Mohammed Morsi canceled a scheduled trip to
Ethiopia Saturday and instead met for the first time with top generals
as part of the newly formed National Defense Council.
The violence in Port Said erupted after a judge sentenced 21 people
to death in connection with the Feb. 1 soccer melee that killed 74 fans
of the Cairo-based Al-Ahly team. Executions in Egypt are usually carried
out by hanging.
All the defendants – who were not present in the courtroom Saturday for security reasons – can appeal the verdict.
Judge Sobhi Abdel-Maguid did not give his reasoning when he read out
the verdicts for 21 out of the 73 defendants Saturday. The verdict for
the remaining 52 defendants, including nine security officials, is
scheduled to be delivered March 9. Some have been charged with murder
and others with assisting the attackers.
Die-hard soccer fans from both teams, known as Ultras, hold the
police at least partially responsible for February's violence, which was
the world's worst soccer violence in 15 years, saying officers at the
game did nothing to stop the bloodshed. They also criticize Egypt's
President Mohammed Morsi for doing little to reform the police force or
the judiciary since he took office in July.
The opposition says Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected and civilian
president, and his Muslim Brotherhood allies in government have failed
to restore stability amid continued political turmoil and crime, and
point to a worsening economy.
In a statement Saturday, the main opposition National Salvation Front
said it holds Morsi responsible for "the excessive use of force by the
security forces against protesters." They threatened to boycott upcoming
parliamentary elections if Morsi does not meet their demands that
include amending articles in the new constitution.
The Brotherhood said in its statement that "misleading" media
outlets were to blame for "enflaming the people's hatred for the current
regime and urging them to act violently."
Immediately after Saturday's verdict was read live on state TV, two
policemen were shot dead outside Port Said's main prison when angry
relatives tried to storm the facility to free the defendants. Police
fired tear gas and rubber bullets, as well as live rounds, at the crowd
outside the prison.
In other parts of the city, residents tried to storm the governor's
office, police stations, the power station and the main court building.
Residents occupied one police station in the east of Port Said.
The director of hospitals in Port Said, Dr. Abdel-Raham Farah, said
two local soccer players were shot to death as they were apparently on
their way to practice. He identified them as Mahmoud Abdel-Halim
al-Dizawi, who played for the city's Al-Marikh club, and Tamer al-Fahla,
who used to play for the city's main Al-Masry team. Al-Diwazi was shot
three times, the doctor said.
The club they were training at is near the prison that residents tried to storm.
The military was deployed in Port Said to try to restore security,
but assaults continued into the evening. The army was widely used to
keep order by top generals who took over after Hosni Mubarak, but the
military has kept a much lower profile since Morsi was elected.
Egyptian military forces also were sent into the canal city of Suez
after eight people died in Friday's clashes between security forces and
protesters opposed to the new president and the Brotherhood. Another
protester was killed in Ismailiya, and security officials told the state
news agency MENA that two policemen were killed in Friday's protests.
Many of the young men who led the protests and clashes hail from the
Ultras. They often come from poor neighborhoods and view the police
force that was the backbone of Mubarak's authoritarian rule as their
nemesis.
"The police are thugs!" yelled relatives of the deceased inside the courtroom before the judge took the bench.
Near Cairo's Tahrir Square, where tens of thousands had amassed to
mark the two-year anniversary a day earlier, Ultras Al-Ahly waved their
team's red flag as they clashed with police who fired tear gas to
disburse the crowd near Cabinet headquarters and Parliament.
Underlining the distrust that lingers between much of the public and
the police, survivors and witnesses say Mubarak loyalists had a hand in
instigating last year's attack, which began after Port Said's home team
won the match, 3-1, and that the police at the very least were
responsible for gross negligence.
Al-Masry fans stormed the pitch after the game ended, attacking
Cairo's Al-Ahly fans. Authorities shut off the stadium lights, plunging
it into darkness. In the exit corridor, the fleeing crowd pressed
against a chained gate until it broke open. Many were crushed under the
crowd of people trying to flee.
Other survivors said it was simply bloodthirsty Al-Masry fans and
lack of enough security that led to the deaths of their colleagues. Both
sides blame police for failing to perform usual searches for weapons at
the stadium.
Anger is boiling in Port Said, where residents say they have been unfairly scapegoated.
A lawyer of one of the defendants given a death sentence said the verdict was political.
"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.
Al-Daw and other defense attorneys said all those sentenced were
Al-Masry fans. As is customary in Egypt, the death sentences will be
sent to the nation's top religious authority, the Grand Mufti, for
approval, though the court has final say on the matter.
Fans of Al-Ahly, whose stands were attacked by rival club Al-Masry in
the incident in Port Said, had promised more violence in the days
leading up to the verdict if the death penalty was not handed down.
Before the judge could read out the names of the 21, families erupted
in relief, yelling "Allahu Akbar!" Arabic for "God is great," with
their hands in the air and waving pictures of the deceased. One man
fainted while others hugged one another. The judge smacked the bench
several times to try to restore calm in the courtroom.
"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."
Thousands of Al-Ahly fans gathered outside the Cairo sports club for
the verdict, chanting against the police and the government.
"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.
____
Associated Press writer Mariam Rizk contributed to this report.
