a
massive riot occurred at Port Said Stadium in Port Said, Egypt, following an
Egyptian premier league football match between Al-Masry and Al-Ahly clubs. At
least 79 people were killed and more than 1,000 were injured after thousands of
Al-Masry spectators stormed the stadium stands and the pitch, following a 3–1
victory by Al-Masry. Al-Masry fans violently attacked Al-Ahly fans, and also
the club's fleeing players, using knives, swords, clubs, stones, bottles, and
fireworks as weapons.
I got the information from Wikipedia
and I will also post the reactions from the victims’ families from other news
sources. I personally do not know if this riot was truly politically motivated but I
hope that people will not do anything deadly and reckless like that in the
future, my condolences to those who died in the riot.
 |
|
Rescue services work
around victims of a deadly stampede April 11, 2001 at Ellis Park in
Johannesburg. / ALEXANDER
JOE/AFP/Getty Images (Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57369889/major-soccer-stadium-disasters/)
|
Port
Said Stadium disaster
|
|||||||
Part of
the 2011 Egyptian revolution
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
Casualties
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
31°15′36″N 32°17′24″E
Incident
The match kick-off was delayed thirty
minutes because Al-Masry fans were on the pitch before the match. During
half-time and after each of the three second half goals for Al-Masry, the
club's supporters stormed the pitch, and at the conclusion of the match,
thousands of spectators ran onto the playing field.
Al-Masry fans threw bottles and
fireworks at the Al-Ahly players, who ran away from their attackers. The
Al-Masry fans were armed with knives, swords, clubs, and stones, and
subsequently attacked the Al-Ahly fans, who tried to escape by running away.
In the ensuing melees, 79 people were
killed. Some were stabbed and clubbed, while others were deliberately thrown
off the stands or died in the stampede. Hisham Sheha, an official in the health
ministry, said the deaths were caused by stab wounds, brain hemorrhages, and
concussions. Over 1,000 injuries were reported, some from the panic in the
crowd as fans tried to escape.
At least 47 people were arrested. The Egyptian army airlifted in soldiers by
helicopter to rescue players who had been stranded and trapped in the locker
rooms.
Al-Ahly coach Manuel José was kicked
and punched by fans after he was unable to return to his locker room. He was afterwards
taken to a police station. Both José and Mohamed Aboutrika reported that fans
died in the Al-Ahly locker room. As an immediate reaction to this disaster,
Egyptian football ace Mohamed Aboutrika decided to retire from football, along
with international football stars Mohamed Barakat and Emad Moteab, while
Al-Ahly coach Manuel José seriously considered leaving Egypt and giving up
football coaching for good.
Video footage appears to show that the
police appeared to be unable or unwilling to contain the groups attacking with
knives and other weapons. Eyewitnesses said that the police "did nothing
to stop it", and "refused to open the gates" to allow the crowds
to escape. The bureau chief of the Voice of America in Egypt received reports
that police opened barriers separating Al-Ahly and Al-Masry supporters. Another
witness said that many people were allowed into the stadium without tickets.
Another match in Cairo, Zamalek SC vs
Ismaily SC, was cancelled due to the Port Said deaths.
Involvement
of Ultras
The New York Times reported that a major
factor in the riots was retaliation on the part of the authorities towards the
ultras, who were actively involved Tahrir Square during the Egyptian revolution
protests.
Reactions
Al-Masry
Captain
In an interview with Egyptian football
expert Islam Issa, Al-Masry's captain Karim Zekri and his brother, former Masry
player Mohamed Zekri, went on record as saying that the police, army and
ex-regime incited the massacre. They added that there were numerous factors
suggesting that it was planned, including the lack of searching and ticket
inspection outside the stadium, the floodlights switching off, the welding of
the away stand's gate, and the arrival of thugs from outside of the game.
Manuel
José
In an interview for Portuguese channel
RTP1, Al-Ahly coach Manuel José said that the whole massacre was orchestrated.
He said that at the north end of the stadium there was a banner that said, in
English: "We are going to kill you all", a slogan which he thought
was directed at the international media and not at the teams. He said that the
gates at the south end, where the Al-Ahly fans were located, were locked and
some fans died of asphyxiation there.
He criticized the police, saying that
they were sitting down, not facing the pitch and did not move at all during all
the pitch invasions that occurred throughout the match, despite being armed and
in considerable numbers. José considered retiring the team at half-time and
said that the referee should have cancelled the match then. He stated that he
saw everyone going towards the Al-Ahly end and saw people falling off the
stands. He was taken to a VIP room and tried to return to the locker room, but
it was impossible to get there. He reported that four people died in the Al-Ahly
locker room.
José will return to Portugal for a
month and gave the team a vacation period. He wishes to remain at Al-Ahly for a
couple more years before retiring, saying that he likes living there, loves the
club and is treated very well.
Government
The BBC reported that the deputy
health minister said that "it is the biggest disaster in the country's
football history." The Parliament of Egypt called for an emergency session
to be held on 2 February 2012 to discuss a response. Parliament Speaker Saad
el-Katatni of the Muslim Brotherhood asserted that security authorities had
hesitated to act.
FIFA
FIFA President Sepp Blatter issued a
statement that read:
I am very shocked and saddened to learn this evening that a large number of Football supporters have died or been injured following a match in Port Said, Egypt. My thoughts are with the families of those who have lost their lives this evening. This is a black day for football. Such a catastrophic situation is unimaginable and should not happen.
Subsequent matches of the 2011–12
Egyptian Premier League were immediately postponed following the disaster. On
10 March 2012, the Egyptian Football Association announced their decision to
cancel the remainder of the season. A spokesperson for the Egyptian Football
Association said the decision was made because there was insufficient time to
play the remaining games before the national team was scheduled to compete in
the 2012 Olympics and qualifiers for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.
Media
ESPN.com columnist Brent Latham, however,
suggested that the virtually unanimous verdict of the Egyptian public was that
the riots were politically motivated:
It's been widely noted that the circumstances surrounding the riot are suspicious at best. The massacre came on the one-year anniversary of the storming of Tahrir Square by a group of pro-Mubarak counter-revolutionaries. It was directed at a group known for manifesting a liberal political agenda through support for a team founded in the name of historically disenfranchised workers and students. And it occurred at a moment when the interim military government has urged the citizenry to support the extension of emergency powers, and with the seeming complicity of law enforcement and stadium security.
Alleged
political involvement
Following the incident,
anti-government political activists accused the ruling Supreme Council of the
Armed Forces (SCAF) and remnants of the old regime still in positions of power,
asserting that the events were of a "counter revolutionary" nature.
Activists cited the recent rise of high-profile crime levels in the week
leading up to the event as evidence that the violence had been organized (in
Cairo and Helwan: two bank robberies and the heist of an armored vehicle
transporting money. In Sharm el-Sheikh: an armed robbery in a currency exchange
led to the murder of a French tourist).
The significance of the date on which
the violence occurred also supported these allegations: the violence in Port
Said took place on the eve of the first anniversary of what later became known
as "the battle of the camel", when armed thugs stormed protesters in
Tahrir Square on camel-back. This was seen by activists as a last-ditch effort
by the ruling party to assert control and spread fear of chaos (the Egyptian
president at the time having warned, in a televised speech on 1 February 2011,
of "chaos" if he was to step down).
Security irregularities prior to the
game have also been referred to in the activists' allegations; attendees of the
game claimed that, in contrast with normal procedures, no security searches
were conducted at the stadium entrances, allowing makeshift weapons to be
smuggled in. Eyewitnesses also claimed that the attending security personnel
took no action to prevent or mitigate the clashes, effectively standing aside
and observing the attacks take place. There were other claims that the gates of
the stadium were locked shut, locking the minority Al-Ahly supporters in.
Al-Ahly ultras claim that they were
specifically targeted given their vocal, and recently highly televised calls
for the SCAF to step down in recent games, as well as their open mockery of the
previous regime and the SCAF. The ultras have been one of the largest organized
bodies of resistance in recent street protests after the conspicuous absence of
the Muslim Brotherhood following parliamentary elections.
Trials
On 26 January 2013, the Port Said
court held in the Police Academy, First Avenue, New Cairo have sent the papers
of 21 defendants to the Mufti. A verdict equivalent to a death sentence and
which simply means that the Mufti's approval is required on the death sentence.
A verdict against the other 52 defendants was postponed to 9 March 2013.
Pro-verdict Reactions
There was an outburst of emotion from
the families of the defendants when the judge announced the sentence, requiring
him to ask for discipline in the court several times. Some parents fainted from
shock. The Ahly ultras celebrated the verdict by carrying out demonstrations
praising the sentence in front of their club branch in Zamalek and asking for
the trial of the officers who were involved in the disaster. They then moved
their demonstration to the Ministry of Interior headquarters to assert their
demands of prosecuting the officers, resulting in clashes with the police.
Police shot tear gas to disperse the protestors.
Anti-verdict Reactions
The people of Port Said have seen the
verdict as a political decision rather than a fair trial. In addition, several
Port Said officials have announced their condemnation on various TV channels.
Some of the defendants' families and the Masry ultras gathered around the
prison in Port Said while others went to block the main Mohamed Ali Street
leading to the Port Said Governorate headquarters. In addition, a third group
blocked the gates of a major textile industrial complex that employs about
20,000 workers.
Losses
Amid the death sentence protests in
Port Said, clashes erupted between pro-defendants' protestors and security
forces in the circumference of the Port Said General Prison. Two police
officers and twenty civilians so far have been killed and over 250 were injured.
On January 27, 2013, Egypt's government was reported to have lost control of
the city.
 |
|
Egypt's court slammed
21 defendants with death sentences in trial the Port Said massacre (Photo:
courtesy of Al-Jazeera)
|
Families cheer and cry as judge issues death penalty
Last
updated Sat 26 Jan 2013
 |
|
The
judge read his judgement out on live state TV, before making a speedy exit from
the courtroom. Credit: RTV
|
Families
of those killed in the Port Said football disaster in February last year
cheered in court as 21 men accused of taking part in the violence were
sentenced to death.
The
judge said in his statement read live on state TV that he would announce the
verdict for the remaining 52 defendants on March 9.
Families
of some of the 74 people who died in the disaster reacted by wailing and
cheering "God is great."
Among
those on trial were nine security officials.
As
is customary in Egypt, the death sentences will be sent to a top religious
authority, the Grand Mufti, for approval.
 |
| Families shouted "God is great" after the sentence was read out. Credit: RTV |
 |
|
Egyptian
soccer fans of Al-Ahly club celebrate a court verdict that returned 21 death
penalties in last years soccer violence. (Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/egypt-court-sentences-21-death-stadium-disaster-article-1.1248449)
|
Court orders death penalty for Egypt football fans
By
News Wires the 26/01/2013 - 09:47
An
Egyptian court Saturday sentenced 21 people to death over clashes between rival
football fans at Port Said stadium last February that left 74 people dead, in
one of the world's deadliest incidents of football violence.
An
Egyptian court sentenced 21 people to death Saturday on charges related to one
of the world’s deadliest incidents of soccer violence, touching off an
attempted jailbreak and a riot that killed 16 in the Mediterranean port city
that is home to most of the defendants.
The
verdict follows deadly clashes between police and demonstrators on Friday, the
second anniversary of the uprising that overthrew longtime leader Hosni Mubarak.
Such cycles of violence, often lasting for weeks and costing dozens of lives,
have occurred regularly over the past two years.
Die-hard
soccer fans from both teams, known as Ultras, hold the police at least
partially responsible for the Port Said deaths and criticize Egypt’s President
Mohammed Morsi for doing little to reform the force.
Al-Ahly
Ultras in particular have been at the forefront of protests. But anger also is
boiling in Port Said, where residents say they have been unfairly scapegoated.
Immediately
after the verdict, two police were shot dead outside Port Said’s main prison
when angry relatives tried to storm the facility to free the defendants. Police
fired tear gas and rubber bullets, as well as live rounds, at the crowd outside
the prison, killing 14, security officials said. Hundreds were wounded. They
spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
Security
officials said the military is being deployed to Port Said - the second such
deployment in less than 24 hours. The army was widely used to keep order by top
generals who took over after Mubarak, but the military has kept a much lower
profile since Morsi was elected as president in June.
Morsi
cancelled a scheduled trip to Ethiopia Saturday and instead met for the first time
with top generals as part of the newly-formed National Defense Council.
The
military was also deployed overnight in the city of Suez after eight people
died in clashes between security forces and protesters opposed to Morsi.
Another protester was killed in Ismailiya, and security officials told the
state news agency MENA that two policemen were killed in Friday’s protests,
bringing the death toll on the second anniversary of Egypt’s uprising to 11.
Judge
Sobhi Abdel-Maguid read out the death sentences related to the Feb. 1 riot in
Port Said that killed 74 fans of the Cairo-based Al-Ahly team. Defendants’
lawyers said all those sentenced were fans of the Port Said team, Al-Masry.
Executions in Egypt are usually carried out by hanging.
The
judge Saturday said in his statement read live on state TV that he would
announce the verdict for the remaining 52 defendants on March 9.
Among
those on trial are nine security officials, but none were handed sentences
Saturday, lawyers and security officials say.
Fans
of al-Ahly, whose stands were attacked by rival club Al-Masry in the Feb. 1
incident in Port Said, had promised more violence if the accused did not
receive death sentences. In the days leading up to the verdict, Al-Ahly fans
warned of bloodshed and "retribution". Hundreds of Al-Ahly fans
gathered outside the Cairo sports club in anticipation of the verdict, chanting
against the police and the government.
Before
the judge could read out the names of the 21, families erupted in screams of
"Allahu Akbar!" Arabic for God is great, with their hands in the air
and waving pictures of the deceased. One man fainted while others hugged one
another. The judge smacked the bench several times to try and contain reaction
in the courtroom.
"This was necessary," said Nour al-Sabah, whose 17 year-old son
Ahmed Zakaria died in the melee. "Now I want to
see the guys when they are executed with my own eyes, just as they saw the
murder of my son."
The
verdict is not expected to calm tensions between the two rival teams. The judge
is expected to make public his reasons for the death sentences March 9, when
the remaining 52 defendants receive their sentences.
A
Port Said resident and lawyer of one of the defendants given a death sentence
said the verdict was nothing more than "a political decision to calm the
public."
"There
is nothing to say these people did anything and we don’t understand what this
verdict is based on," Mohammed al-Daw told The Associated Press by
telephone.
"Our
situation in Port Said is very grave because kids were taken from their homes
for wearing green T-shirts," he said, referring to the Al-Masry team
color.
The
violence began after the Port Said’s home team won the match, 3-1. Al-Masry
fans stormed the pitch after the game ended, attacking Cairo’s Al-Ahly fans.
Authorities
shut off the stadium lights, plunging it into darkness. In the exit corridor,
the fleeing crowd pressed against a chained gate until it broke open. Many were
crushed under the crowd of people trying to flee.
Survivors
of the riot described a nightmarish scene in the stadium. Police stood by doing
nothing, they said, as fans of Al-Masry attacked supporters of the top Cairo
club stabbing them and throwing them off bleachers.
Al-Ahly
survivors said supporters of Al-Masry carved the words "Port Said"
into their bodies and undressed them while beating them with iron bars.
While
there has long been bad blood between the two rival teams, many blamed police
for failing to perform usual searches for weapons at the stadium.
Both
Al-Ahly Ultras and Al-Masry Ultras widely believe that ex-members of the ousted
regime of Hosni Mubarak helped instigate the attack, and that the police at the
very least were responsible for gross negligence. It is not clear what kind of
evidence, if any, was presented to the court to back up claims that the attack
had been orchestrated by regime officials.
"The
police are thugs!" yelled relatives of the deceased inside the courtroom
before the judge took the bench.
As
is customary in Egypt, the death sentences will be sent to the nation’s top
religious authority, the Grand Mufti, for approval, though the court has final
say on the matter.
All
of the defendants - who were not present in the courtroom Saturday for security
reasons - have the right to appeal the verdict.
The
melee was the world’s deadliest soccer violence in 15 years.
The
Ultras are proud of their hatred for the police, who were the backbone of
Mubarak’s authoritarian rule. They then then directed their chants against the
military rulers who took over after Mubarak’s ouster.
Ultras
from several Egyptian sports clubs were engaged in deadly clashes with police
near the Interior Ministry headquarters in Cairo that killed 42 people less
than three months before the soccer melee in Port Said.
(AP)
http://www.france24.com/en/20130126-egypt-court-orders-death-sentence-football-fans-port-said |
|
Families
of the victims of the Ultras Al-Ahli, football supporters react in court with
joy after the issuance of the death penalty for 21 accused in last years Port
Said football violence, in Cairo, Egypt. (Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/egypt-court-sentences-21-death-stadium-disaster-article-1.1248449)
|
Ultras Ahlawy celebrate death penalty
Thousands
of Ultras from different governorates surrounded the Al-Ahly football club in
Cairo, listening to car radios as the presiding judge read the death sentences
for 21 of the accused.
 |
|
Ultras Ahlawi are seen in front of
Cairo’s All-Ahly club on January 26, waving flags depicting faces of Ultras
fans that died in the Port Said massacre. (Photo by Sara Abou Bakr)
|
Ultras
Ahlawy gathered early Saturday morning near Al-Ahly Club headquarters in Cairo
to hear the verdicts of 74 people accused of killing over 70 others- mostly
young men- during a football match last year in Port Said.
Thousands
of Ultras from different governorates surrounded the club, listening to car
radios as the presiding judge read the death sentences for 21 of the accused.
Crowds
broke into chants of “God is great” while some fell to the floor in thanks as
others broke into hysteric crying.
They
then surrounded the main entrance of the club, some of them climbing the main
gate to lead the crowd’s chants. Fireworks and flares filled the sky.
Huge
Flags depicting faces of Ultras fans that died in Port Said last year were held
high as the chants grew louder.
While
celebration continued, some of the Ultras group remained on the sidelines. “Only 21 given the death penalty,” one of them said, “It is not enough.” Another fan from Alexandria said “imagine raising one of these kids up only to die in your
arms. It’s not enough.”
Remaining
tight-lipped on their next move, one of them said, “What is coming is sweeter
still.” http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2013/01/26/ultras-ahlawy-celebrate-death-penalty/
21 sentenced to death over Port Said Stadium disaster
Published
January 26th, 2013 - 20:54 GMT via SyndiGate.info [1]
An
Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced 21 people to death after convicting them
of involvement in killing 74 football fans in the country’s worst sports
tragedy.
An
Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced 21 people to death after convicting them
of involvement in killing 74 football fans in the country’s
worst sports tragedy [2].
The
chief judge Sobhi Abdul Hamid was interrupted several times by relatives of the
victims who gathered inside a makeshift courtroom at the Police Academy near
Cairo.
“Please,
please,” shouted the judge as he stomped his hand on the bench in front of him
while reading out names of the convicts.
He
said that the documents of the 21 accused — out of a total of 73 — would be
referred to the country’s Grand Mufti (top cleric) for endorsement, which is a
routine procedure in Egypt in death sentencing.
“The
final ruling will be announced on March 9 and all defendants shall be kept in
prison until then,” said Abdul Hamid at the brief session before dashing out
from the courtroom amid heavy security.
Upon
hearing the verdict, families of the dead erupted into jubilation. The ruling
proved so joyous for some of them that they burst into tears. Others fainted.
In
February last year, 74 soccer fans were killed and 254 injured in mayhem
following a match at the stadium in the coastal city of Port Said between the
hosts Al
Masry [3] and Egypt’s top team Al Ahly [4].
Seventy-three
suspects, including nine policemen, were arrested and put on trial on charges
ranging from negligence of duty to involvement in the killings.
Only
the nine accused policemen appeared before the court. The 64 other defendants
were kept inside a prison in Port Said over fears that Cairo-based extremist
football fans, known as the ultras, would attack them.
Stunned
by the verdict, thousands of people in Port Said, north east of Cairo, took to
the streets in rage, throwing stones at security forces.
Many
local people encircled the prison where the defendants are locked, attempting
to free them.
Two
policemen were shot dead by unknown gunmen outside the prison, said the
Interior Ministry.
Other
protesters besieged the Port Said Investment Zone and barred employees from
entering the area that houses 28 factories, said witnesses.
In
sharp contrast, the verdict was greeted with cheers and fireworks by thousands
of Al Ahly supporters who had congregated outside the Cairo-based team’s building
since the early hours of the day.
The
hardcore fans, mostly youngsters, last week launched in Cairo what they called
“start-of-anger protests”, warning that they would avenge the Port Said deaths
if the court did not deliver “fair retribution.”
Thousands
of the ultras surrounded the Egyptian Stock Exchange building in Cairo on
Wednesday before blocking the city’s Underground service and main bridge for
hours.
The
ruling will most likely clear the way for the resumption of the domestic
football competitions suspended in the aftermath of the Port Said mayhem.
Sports
authorities have recently said the new season will kick off on February 2 after
several postponements.
The
verdict comes one day after at least nine people were killed in clashes between
police and opponents of President Mohammad Mursi across the country.
“This
ruling comes to rejoice Egyptians’ hearts,” said Essam Al Erian, a senior
official in the Muslim Brotherhood from which Mursi hails.
He
added in a tweet that the verdict marks the start of achieving justice for
hundreds of people killed during and after a revolt that toppled former
strongman Hosni Mubarak almost two years ago.
Mursi,
Egypt’s first elected civilian president has been frequently criticized for not
keeping a promise to bring to justice suspects in killing peaceful protesters.
Most
policemen and ex-officials suspected of involvement in the protester deaths
have been acquitted for lack of evidence.
CHECK THESE TWO VIDEOS TO HEAR ABOUT THE VERDICT OF THE 21 DEFENDANTS:
No comments:
Post a Comment