Port Said Criminal Court postponed the trial of 73 suspects charged with killing 74 fans of the Ahly Club until 7 July on Sunday.
The 74 fans were killed following a match between the local club, Masry, and Ahly on 1 February when Masry fans stormed the field and attacked Ahly’s spectators.
The court summoned Major General Adel al-Ghadban, Port Said’s military ruler, for the third time after he failed to show up for Sunday’s session. The former Assistant Interior Minister for Canal Security and the head of the Office of Drug Control in Port Said were also summoned.
During Tuesday’s session, the court allowed the families of those who were killed in the incident to attend the session and sit in the back of the courtroom behind iron fences. The trial is being held at the Police Academy.
The defense insisted that the court inspects Port Said Stadium, and requested footage of the violence and asked to screen three CDs submitted by the former security chief of the governorate.
The defense also called for hearing the testimonies of prosecution witnesses again and summoning former Egyptian Football Association Chairman Samir Zaher and members of the dissolved People’s Assembly’s fact-finding committee.
Edited translation from Al-Masry al-Youm
