Egypt’s public prosecutor referred on Sunday 67 defendants to criminal court in the case of late public prosecutor Hisham Barakat’s assassination. Barakat was killed on June 29, 2015 after a bomb targeted his motorcade. His assassination made him the most senior state official killed since militant attacks surged in Egypt in mid-2013. The public prosecution’s office said in a statement on Sunday that the State Security Prosecution’s investigation revealed that the defendants belong to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group and that they organized the assassination in coordination with the Palestinian movement Hamas. The State Security prosecution is a branch of prosecution which is typically involved in cases that affect national security. The statement read that some of the defendants planned for the attack while others received combat training in Hamas camps on monitoring high-profile figures, preparing Improvised Explosive Devices and securing communication. Prosecution accused the defendants of manufacturing and possessing explosives and using them to endanger people’s lives, as well as acquisition of weapons and ammunition intended for use in criminal activities. The prosecution’s referral order was accompanied with detailed confessions from 45 out of the 67 defendants, the public prosecution’s office added in the statement. In March, Egypt’s interior minister accused Hamas and…
Egypt Refers to Court 67 Involved in General Prosecutor Hisham Barakat’s Assassination
May 9, 2016
