The Cairo Criminal Court adjourned the retrial of eight defendants in the case publicly known as the Suez Terrorist Cell trial to 29 August, to bring the defendants to court. The defendants did not attend the Saturday session. In March 2014, the court sentenced 26 defendants in the case to death in absentia, and another defendant to 15 years in a maximum security prison. Six defendants demanded a retrial in December 2014, with a further five also standing retrial in January 2015. The charges against the defendants included: establishing a terrorist organisation; manufacturing missiles and explosives to be used against the country; targeting ships in the Suez Canal waterway; and targeting security facilities. In April, detained defendants in the case claimed they were tortured whilst in custody in the Borg Al-Arab Prison. The court ordered the prosecution to investigate the allegations.
