CAIRO: The Port Said Criminal Court ruled Sunday to acquit five accused in the case known in media as “Port Said Stadium massacre,” in which 74 football fans were killed in 2012, Youm7 reported.
The court, however, sentenced a sixth defendant to 10 years in prison and upheld a death sentence against an at-large defendant.
A retrial has been ongoing for the defendants; they were arrested after previously receiving verdicts in absentia.
The case includes a total of 73 defendants; the court upheld death sentences against 11 of them in June.
Ten defendants received 15-year sentences, 13 received 10-year sentences, while 15 include former head of Port Said security directorate – received five-year sentences. The court acquitted 21 others.
The prosecution accused the defendants of a number of charges, including premeditated murder, and that the accused had the intention and were determined to kill the fans by carrying bladed weapons, firecrackers and stones.