Egypt jails 15 football fans for trying to kill club boss

A court in Egypt on Monday jailed 15 hard
core football fans known as "ultras" for trying to kill
the chairman of the popular Cairo-based Zamalek
club, an official said.
"Ultras", who were at the forefront of the 2011
uprising against ex-president Hosni Mubarak, had
already been banned as a group since May 2015 after
another court found them guilty of taking part in
violence.
Since February 2012 the authorities have banned all
spectators from football matches in stadiums, as
whenever some games were opened to the public
they were marred by crowd violence, sometimes
deadly.
On Monday, a court sentenced 11 Ultras White
Knights, diehard Zamalek supporters, to one year for
"planning, participating and attempting to murder
Mourtada Mansour", chairman of the club, in August
2014, the official said.
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Egypt
They were also found guilty of possessing weapons
and fireworks.
The prosecution said the defendants attacked
Mansour at the club's gate, and during the assault a
security guard and a journalist were wounded by
birdshot.
The attack came after Mansour banned Ultras White
Knights from Zamalek training sessions, the court
official and a defence lawyer said.
Four other defendants were also each sentenced to
one year for the raid on the club, during which club
property was also damaged.
Last May, a court banned all activities by the Ultras
after a case filed by Mansour, who had openly
opposed Mubarak's overthrow but backed the army's
ouster in 2013 of his Islamist successor Mohamed
Morsi.
Lawyer Osama al-Gohari, representing 10 defendants
in the trial, said 12 of the 15 were in court for
sentencing. He also said he planned to appeal.
Monday's judgment came following a retrial of the 15
after they were earlier sentenced in absentia to five
years in prison.