By AP
CAIRO: The opening trial of those charged in connection to the deaths of 75 people killed in Egypt’s worst football violence was briefly adjourned when defendants erupted in protest to proclaim their innocence.
The 73 defendants, among them nine senior police officers, face charges relating to the riot after a football match in the Mediterranean city of Port Said Feb. 1.
The 30-minute killing frenzy broke out after a match between Cairo club Al-Ahly and local team Al-Masry.
Dressed in white inside a courtroom cage, the defendants on Tuesday chanted for “justice” or “death.”
Many face murder charges, while the officers have been charged with assisting the group from Al-Masry to attack fans of Al-Ahly, a group closely associated with Egypt’s 2011 uprising.
