The Monday trial of political activist and famed blogger Ahmed Douma, accused of attacking the cabinet building and security personnel as well as burning the Scientific Institute in Cairo in 2011, was delayed until 13 August. Douma is on trial in the Cairo Criminal Court with 268 other defendants in a trial that has faced repeated delays. The trial was postponed on Monday to allow experts to examine media evidence, according to state-run Al-Ahram. Douma allegedly was one of the organisers of the sit-in, although he said that he was not present in the area when the violence started. "Military officers located on the top of the Cabinet Office and People's Assembly buildings started to throw rocks and marble bricks on us, resulting in many injuries and deaths among the protesters," Douma said. The prosecution has accused Douma and his cohorts of possessing knives, stones, and Molotov cocktails used to destroy vehicles and torch the Scientific Institute. Douma was sentenced on 22 December to three years' hard labour or to pay a fine of EGP 5,000 alongside Ahmed Maher, co-founder of the 6 April Youth Movement, and Mohamed Adel, co-founder and member of 6 April's political bureau. Douma chose to pay the fine to avoid imprisonment. The trio was convicted of protesting without the Ministry of Interior's approval under the controversial Protest Law, rioting, "thuggery", using violence against Abdeen Courthouse security personnel and possessing melee weapons. The verdict garnered wide criticism from domestic as well as international bodies. Douma has also been charged with insulting then-president Mohamed Morsi on television, calling him a "criminal, murderer and a fugitive from justice" on a television programme on the satellite channel Dream, later repeating the same phrase on a separate programme on the same channel.
