The Cairo Criminal Court acquitted Monday a defendant accused of the premeditated murder of a Muslim Brotherhood member, state media reported.
The defendant was allegedly determined to kill anyone who passes through his neighbourhood who happens to be “bearded”, because a bearded member of the Brotherhood killed a member of his family during one of the Brotherhood-organised marches in the Zeitoun area in eastern Cairo.
Investigations indicated that the inhabitants of the neighbourhood had organised “popular checkpoints” in preparation for an anticipated Brotherhood march, and that it was the context in which the defendant was claimed to have committed the crime.
The prosecution had accused the defendant of premeditated murder, possession of a firearm and live ammunition without a license.
Following the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood held numerous protests and sit-ins, which peaked with the violently dispersed Rabaa al-Adaweya and Nahda Square sit-ins. Since then there has been an ongoing crackdown against leaders, members and supporters of the Brotherhood, with thousands of arrests and prison sentences being handed out against them.
