The Court of Cassation accepted on Saturday an appeal by defendants in the August 2013 killing of 25 policemen in Rafah, North Sinai, delivered in December 2014.
The court accepted the appeal against death, life and 15-year-jail sentences handed down to primary defendant, Adel Habbara, and 15 others.
Defense lawyers argued that one of the defendants was held in police custody for drug-dealing charges at the time of the attack, while another was sentenced to jail over anecdotal accusations of illegal funding based on a witness’s testimony.
Besides murder charges, prosecutors also accused the defendants of collaboration with Al-Qaeda.
Sinai has been the stage for several deadly attacks on security and army forces since the ouster of Mohamed Morsi in 2013. Islamist militant groups have claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Egypt’s National Council for Human Rights says 700 army and police officers have been killed since June 2013.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
