The Port Said Criminal Court, headed by Judge Sobhy Abdel Meguid, on Saturday acquitted 28 defendants, sentenced five to life and confirmed the death sentence for 21 of 73 defendants accused of killing 72 fans in the aftermath of a match turned violent in February 2012. Hassan Yassin, head of the Public Prosecution's technical office, has said that the prosecutor general wouldn't appeal the acquittals of the 28 defendants until reviewing the rationale behind the verdict. Yassin said that any decision to appeal would need to take into account the rationale behind sentencing some of the defendants and acquitting the rest. The court case resumed on Saturday morning at the Police Academy in New Cairo. Former head of the Port Said Security Directorate, Essam Samak, one of nine policemen accused in the case, was sentenced to 15 years in jail. Another nine defendants received a similar sentence. Meanwhile, another policeman, Mohamed Saad, was sentenced to life. According to the prosecution's investigations, Saad was on duty at the stadium when the massacre happened and had closed the emergency door of the stadium from the side where the Ultras Ahlawy were sitting right before the match ended, preventing them from fleeing when the Masry ultras attacked. The rest of the nine policemen accused in the case were all acquitted. Six other defendants received 10-year jail sentences and two defendants received five years. One defendant received one year in prison. Abdel Meguid, had sentenced 21 of the defendants to death earlier this year on 26 January. The ruling is still being reviewed by the grand mufti, a standard procedure with death sentences. The ruling prompted a state of anger and chaos in Port Said, where families of the defendants called the ruling unfair and biased toward Cairo's Ahly club fans, whose colleagues were those killed after the match with their adversary, Port Said's Masry club. The Suez Canal governorate has ever since been in a constant state of instability, with ongoing clashes between protesters and police. The city also announced a state of civil disobedience days ago to express opposition to the security crackdown and the government of President Mohamed Morsy. Meanwhile, the Cairo-based Ultras Ahlawy has threatened to spread chaos if justice is not served. Hundreds of them had already congregated near the Ahly Club in Cairo ahead of the verdict. A full security plan was deployed ahead of the anticipated ruling in today's session. Defendants did not show up at the court, as a security measure. The security plan includes the deployment of 2,000 soldiers around the Police Academy where the court session will be held, as well as on the roads leading to it in Cairo and around vital state institutions, Gamal Abdel Aal, head of Criminal Investigations in Cairo.
