The Alexandria Court of Appeals has ruled that the examination of a case against security officials charged with killing protesters during the uprising last year should be resumed in criminal court. The trial will resume on 15 October in Alexandria Criminal Court, judicial sources said. In March, the court postponed the examination of the case indefinitely after a security report said it would be difficult to secure the trial, following clashes between the families of the victims and the defendants. The criminal court referred the matter to the appeals court to determine a well-secured place for the trial to resume. The judicial sources said the appeals court rejected the request to transfer the trial to another place and ordered the resumption of the case. The defendants face charges of killing 96 protesters and injuring 490 others on 28 January 2011, a date that has been called the “Friday of Anger.” The trial started last year in mid-April. The defendants include Mohamed Ibrahim, the former Alexandria security chief; Adel Taha al-Laqqany, the former head of the Central Security Forces in Alexandria; Wael al-Koumy, head of the Raml 2 Investigations Office; and security captains Mohamed Safaan, Mostafa al-Damy and Moataz al-Asqalany. Ibrahim and Laqqany are charged with participating with other policemen in the premeditated murder of protesters, through incitement and assistance. The two suspects allegedly met before the killings and incited policemen to attack the protesters. Koumy, Damy, Safaan and Asqalany face charges of murder and attempted murder of protesters. Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
