The Qasr El-Nil Misdemeanour Court rejected Sunday the appeal on the verdict issued against 68 defendants charged with breaking the Protest Law on the fourth anniversary of the 25 January Revolution. The Court, headed by Judge Ahmed Abdullah, had issued verdicts against the 68 defendants on 31 March. The judge ordered a fine of EGP 50,000 against each defendant over charges of protesting without prior notification to the government and obstructing roads during the fourth anniversary of the 25 January Revolution. Abdullah, however, acquitted the defendants of organising a public assembly, which is punishable by prison under Article 7 of the Protest Law. Charges in the case include illegal public assembly, thuggery, violence, and assaulting security officers. Four of the defendants are members of the leftist Bread and Freedom Party. Mohamed Douma, a defendant in the case, was injured during the revolution in 2011. According to defence lawyer Sameh Samir, many of the protesters are injured, and demanded retribution for the victims of the revolution, after four years of being unable to obtain their rights. A total of 80 people were arrested in protests on 25 January 2015, which marked the fourth anniversary of the revolution. Among them, 12 minors were previously acquitted, and the remaining 68 include one young woman. On every commemoration of the revolution, protesters have been arrested. Many of their demands date back to the time of the revolution, such as retribution for the victims of the revolution.
