Egyptian prosecutor charges 75 in Port Said soccer deaths

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REPORTING FROM CAIRO -- Egypt’s general prosecutor charged 75 people, including a former security chief and eight police officers, with murder and negligence Thursday in the violence that killed at least 74 people in clashes between rival fans at a soccer game last month in Port Said.

The bloodshed startled the nation and drew rebuke against military leaders for a lack of security that has plagued Egypt since the overthrow last year of President Hosni Mubarak. The televised soccer match between Port Said Masry squad and the rival Ahly club from Cairo erupted in a melee as the home team’s fans rushed the field, attacking opposing players and supporters for more than 30 minutes.

The office of General Prosecutor Abdel-Maguid Mahmoud issued a statement Thursday saying that the defendants included the former Port Said security chief, Maj. Gen. Essam Samak, eight police officers and three Port Said team officials. Samak has been suspended from his duties since the incident.

The statement said the key defendants played a part in the killing by ‘failing to take any measure’ to prevent the violence and for allowing the home fans to exceed the maximum attendance of 3,000 in Port Said Stadium.

The prosecutor added that police and team officials were aware that fans, including known criminals, planned for the attack and were allowed to enter the stadium carrying weapons such as knives and swords without being searched.

Investigations showed that the stadium’s lights were intentionally shut off during the attack and that Ahly fans were thrown off terraces by Port Said fans, wrote Adel Saied, a spokesman for the prosecutor. The home team fans threw firebombs on visitors who could not escape because exit doors were intentionally shut.

The incident fed the sense that security has been lacking in Egypt since the downfall of the police establishment with last year’s revolution.

Many activists previously alleged that police officers aren’t getting back to maintaining order as a way of punishing the population for the revolution that ‘humiliated’ the Interior Ministry used by Mubarak to crush dissidents during his 30-year rule.

Animosity between security forces and one group of Ahly fans known as Ultras was no secret even during Mubarak’s reign. Ultras took part in protests against the Interior Ministry before and after the revolution and often boasted of bringing down the police.

Last month’s riot resulted in the cancellation of the Egyptian soccer league and the dismissal of the soccer federation president and his board of members. A number of prominent players have vowed not to play again until those responsible for the killings are brought to justice.

However, soccer pundit Alaa Sadek is convinced that those who are really responsible for the killings have yet to be charged. ‘Many higher-ranked police officials were involved in allowing the Port Said incident to take place and Gen. Samak is not the big fish here,’ he said.

‘I really hope that Egypt’s independent judiciary will be able to dig further into the case to reveal other bigger officials involved in this case.’

Hundreds of the Ultras group marched toward Cairo’s higher court headquarters downtown Thursday calling for justice for those who died after the game. ALSO:

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-- Amro Hassan