11 get death sentence for 2012 soccer riot in Egypt

Cairo, June 10: A court in Egypt handed over death sentences to 11 people in connection with 2012 soccer riot, media reported.

These people were given death sentences on Tuesday for their roles in a 2012 soccer riot there that killed more than 70 people and injured hundreds in Egypt's city of Port Said in 2012.

It was Egypt's worst soccer disaster to date and one of the world's deadliest.

The verdict came at the end of the retrial in Cairo of 73 defendants, NY Times reported.

In the February 2, 2012, violence, fans of the home team in Port Said attacked backers of another club, Al-Ahly.

Some victims fell from the bleachers as they tried to escape, and others were crushed.

The prosecution claimed the police had aided the attack by not searching the home team's supporters on entering the stadium, thus allowing in knives, clubs and homemade explosives.

OneIndia News