CAIRO — An Egyptian court has sentenced 20 people to life in prison for storming a prison in the Suez Canal city of Port Said in January 2013.
In his ruling on Saturday, Judge Mohammed Saeed Cherbany of Port Said Criminal Court said the defendants had been “backing evil people in the execution of the crime.” Thirty other defendants were sentenced to prison terms of five or 10 years. The verdicts will be appealed.
The case stems from a riot that ensued after a court issued death sentences to people involved in Egypt’s worst-ever soccer violence, during a match in 2012 at which 72 people were killed.
The verdict the next year sparked riots, and police opened fire into the crowds. About 42 people were killed and more than 79 others were wounded.