Egypt Jails 8 Soccer Fans Two Years Over Illegal Protests

The eight will also be monitored for another two years after they finish their jail terms.

An Egyptian court sentenced on Saturday eight football fans to two years in prison over charges of inciting riots and holding illegal protests to mark the fifth anniversary of tragic clashes that killed 72 fans in February 2012, state-run Al-Ahram news website reported.

The eight convicts from “Ultras Ahlawy,” a group of supporters of Egypt’s number one football team Al-Ahly, were arrested in February among others outside the club in downtown Cairo while trying to mark the post-match riots in costal Port Said city which resulted in mass deaths of Al-Ahly fans.

The eight will also be monitored for another two years after they finish their jail terms.

Earlier in February, Egypt’s top Court of Cassation declined an appeal and confirmed death sentences for 10 defendants over murder-related charges in the 2012 soccer riot tragedy.

In the same case, another 10 defendants were sentenced to 15 years in prison, 15 to 10 years, 15 to five years and one to one year, while 21 defendants were acquitted.

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