Egypt: 15 football fans behind bars

An Egypt criminal court has sentenced 15 members of the Ultras White Knights to one year in prison following charges pushed against them for storming into the Al-Zamalek club headquarters and attempting to assassinate the club’s president in August 2014.

The charges were confirmed on Monday by the court of appeal that said it had dropped the punishment from five years to one year in prison after they waived a complaint in the trial.

Earlier in January 2015, the court sentenced 20 members of the same group to three years on charges of incitement and assault to the security forces. This had followed a series of clashes after a match between Zamalek and another football club at Cairo Stadium in March 2014.

The Ultras White Knights is among the groups that lead to the ousting of Hosni Mubarak and has been linked to many violences in football matches. Since 2012, Egypt has banned all spectator in stadium in relation to numerous crowd violence.