The Abusir Misdemeanour Court in Ismailia on Saturday handed down prison sentences ranging from one to two years to 19 police officers that were assigned to secure Ismailia Future Prison during the jailbreak in October.
A total of 22 police officers were accused of being involved in the jailbreak. The court acquitted three of the officers. The head of the prison was included among those sentenced in the case, according to state-run newspaper Al-Ahram.
The Ministry of Interior reported in October that six inmates had fled Ismailia Future Prison and engaged in riots and an exchange of fire with police during their escape.
A civilian and an officer were killed during the clashes, which were reported to have lasted for six hours. The civilian, Ahmed Rizk, was said to “have been passing by during the incident” while the officer, a major named Mohamed Al-Husseini, was killed as he chased the inmates. A conscript was also injured in the process.
Later that same day, local media reported that one of the escapees was arrested. The suspect told authorities that his breakout was facilitated by a secret internal informant who helped them acquire weapons, in exchange for a sum of EGP 100,000, according to an issue released then by the state-run newspaper Al-Ahram.
The six fugitives include three terrorist suspects who were arrested by National Security while trying to smuggle weapons through one of the villages on the borders of Ismailia to North Sinai, allegedly to carry out deadly attacks. The three others were detained for criminal charges, including theft and abduction, Al-Ahram reported.
