Capital sentences SEVENTY-five defendants in the Rabaa sit-in dispersal case were issued with death sentences on Saturday in an initial ruling by the Cairo Criminal Court. The defendants' files were referred to Egypt's grand mufti for review before a final verdict is issued. The defendants include Muslim Brotherhood leaders Mohamed Al-Beltagi, Essam Al-Erian and Abdel-Rahman Al-Barr. The court is expected to rule on the remaining 664 defendants in the same case — including photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid, known as Shawkan, and Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie — on 8 September. In August 2013 police dispersed a sit-in at Rabaa Al-Adawiya Square staged by supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi. Hundreds were killed during the dispersal. The police defended its actions, saying armed elements within the Muslim Brotherhood initiated the violence. Shawkan was arrested while taking pictures of the sit-in. He is accused of belonging to a banned group and of possessing firearms, charges which he denies. The trial of the 739 defendants started early in 2016 and has taken more than 40 sessions. The defendants were referred to trial in August 2015 on a raft of charges that included murder, sabotage and disrupting traffic. Mysterious death ON SUNDAY Bishop Epiphanius, 64, was found dead in mysterious circumstances at the Anba Makar Monastery in Wadi Al-Natroun, 90km to the northwest of Cairo. “Official investigations have started and questioning is now underway,” the Coptic Orthodox Church said in a statement. The funeral for the bishop was held at the monastery on Tuesday. “We await the results of the investigations,” the statement said. Pope Tawadros II expressed his condolences in an official statement and described the late bishop, who was head of the Anbar Makar Monastery, as “filled with modesty and gentleness”. “The monastery was founded in 360 AD by Saint Macarius, who was the spiritual father to more than 4,000 monks of different nationalities,” says the monastery's official website. A tragic accident TEN people were killed and 17 seriously injured on Sunday when a bus carrying workers from a Port Said factory collided with an articulated truck on the Port Said-Ismailia highway. The dead and injured were transferred to Port Said general hospital in 12 ambulances. “The injuries included concussions, fractures and bruises,” said Health Ministry spokesperson Khaled Megahed. The prosecutor-general has formed a technical committee from the Port Said traffic department to investigate the accident. Fake degrees THE EGYPTIAN Embassy in Kuwait issued an official statement on Saturday in which it said universities in Egypt were not involved in awarding fake BAs or post-graduate degrees to Kuwaiti students. The fake degrees, of which there are no records in university archives, were the work of “a few individuals” and not institutions, said the statement. “The authorities in Cairo are fully ready to investigate any suspected cases of falsifying degrees inside Egypt,” the statement added, noting that the cases that have come to light so far concern people who were not registered at an Egyptian university. The Kuwaiti cultural office in Cairo is coordinating with the Egyptian Ministry of Higher Education and officials at universities accredited by the Kuwaiti authorities to solve any problems facing Kuwaiti students in Egypt, the embassy said. Kuwaiti authorities recently opened an investigation into complaints related to forged academic and scientific certificates granted to Kuwaiti students. Illegal gathering QASR Al-Nil State Security Misdemeanours Court sentenced 14 members of Ultras Ahlawy to three-year jail terms on Sunday. The Ahli fans faced charges of attempting to illegally break into the club, possession of explosives and disruption of traffic. The defendants were arrested in May after gathering in front of the club and trying to enter to watch a handball match. The court cleared three of the initial 17 detainees of all charges. Dance fines PROSECUTORS ordered the release of a university student on Sunday after fining him LE1,050 for performing the Keke dance and posting it on Facebook. The Keke challenge involves jumping out of a moving car and dancing alongside it to Drake's hit “In My Feelings”, while the car continues moving. The craze began when Internet comedian Shiggy posted a video to Instagram of himself dancing to the song. Since his video went viral, thousands of people have taken up the challenge. Videos of Egyptian celebrities, including goalkeeper Essam Al-Hadari and actresses Dina Al-Sherbini and Yasmine Raais, have posted clips of themselves dancing. The Interior Ministry last week warned anyone taking up the challenge, which can disrupt traffic and endanger lives, could face fines or even a jail term.
