The Egyptian Emergency State Security Court on Sunday postponed the trial of an Al-Qaeda linked terrorist cell to 13 February in order to provide adequate time to hear the testimonies of witnesses. The jihadist off-shoot in question is known in the media by the name "Zeitoun Cell." Egypt's Foreign Ministry in July arrested 25 Egyptians and one Palestinian member of the cell. The ministry claimed the group planned to carry out terrorist attacks in Egypt. Human Rights Watch, an international NGO based in New York, condemned the trial of the cell members, saying the trial will not safeguard the rights of the defendants. Attorney-general Abdel Neguid Mahmoud in January referred the members of the cell for trial under charges of forming a terrorist organization and threatening the lives and property of Copts and foreigners. The prosecution said the cell targeted public establishments, including oil facilities, as well as the Suez Canal in order to fuel unrest. Prosecution officials also charged the cell members with robbing a jewelry shop and killing its Coptic owner along with three others in the Zeitoun district of Cairo. The "Zeitoun Cell" is also accused of carrying out the Hussein bombing in 2009.
