The trial session for 48 defendants accused of killing journalist Mayada Ashraf and two others during violent protests in March 2014 was postponed Wednesday by the South Cairo Criminal Court to 3 August.
The trial was postponed to hear testimonies and allow the defence team time to prepare their case.
The suspects are accused of belonging to the “outlawed terrorist organisation the Muslim Brotherhood”, possessing weapons, and murdering of the journalist. Prosecution authorities listed among the accusations that the “armed group aimed to target police, journalists, and Copts to disturb national unity”.
Ashraf, 22, was killed by a gunshot in the head while covering protests that had erupted in the Ain Shams district of Cairo, which turned violent. In the same event, a Coptic woman named Mary Sameh George died when she was assaulted and beaten inside her car.
Ashraf’s case has raised controversy regarding the safety of field reporters, but there have also been claims that the fired shots came from security forces and not the protesters, which the Ministry of Interior has firmly denied.
