Trial of 48 MB members over murder of journalist Mayada Ashraf adjourned

CAIRO, Aug 20 2017: The Cairo Criminal Court decided on Sunday to adjourn the trial of 48 defendants of the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood group over violent acts that occurred in the eastern Cairo district of Ain Shams in 2014 and left three persons dead, including a young journalist.

The court deferred the trial as several lawyers of defendants failed to show up.

Mayada Ashraf, 23, a reporter with the daily Al Dostor, was shot dead while covering clashes between security forces and MB protesters in the area. A child, Sherif Abdel Raouf, was also shot dead in the head during the violence, while a woman, Mary George, who was in her car, died of a gunshot to the chest. The defendants then set her car ablaze.

Prosecutors probing the case pointed out that the terrorist MB group and the so-called "National Alliance to Support Legitimacy" had formed specialized committees grouping armed men to serve as a military wing of the terrorist group.

Those committees aimed at targeting journalists to prevent them from unveiling MB crimes and at targeting Christian citizens to destroy the national fabric and create chaos, according to the prosecution statement. They also acted to target government institutions with the aim of toppling the state, the prosecution said.

With this in mind, members of the committees gathered in Ain Shams district of Cairo on March 28, 2014. They opened fire on citizens, who rejected the protest, media people and police.