The retrial of 11 defendants facing charges connected to the 2012 Port Said Massacre was postponed on Tuesday to 18 June by the Port Said Criminal Court. Those standing trial had been sentenced in absentia in March 2013, when 21 accused were sentenced to death. The decision to postpone the trial came in order to make time to hear witnesses and receive files relating to the case from the Court of Cassation, according to state-owned MENA. The defendants face a litany of charges, including premeditated murder and possession of explosives and weapons. The 11 defendants turned themselves in recently following their initial sentencing. Last March, in addition to the 21 death sentences, the court handed down a 15-year sentence to former Port Said Director of Security Essam El-Din Samak and nine others. Five other defendants were sentenced to life in prison, six were sentenced to ten years, two defendants to five years each, and one defendant was sentenced to one year in jail. In February 2012 at Port Said Stadium, 72 supporters of Al-Ahly's football team were killed following a match against Al-Masry SC. Fans stormed the pitch and attacked players and other fans. Victims were stabbed, beaten, trampled by the crowd, and some were thrown off the upper tier of the stadium.
