CAIRO - The trial of three Egyptians charged in last October’s Sinai bombings continued on Sunday in Ismailia, north of Cairo, with a court decision to adjourn to mid-August, MENA news agency reported. The decision to adjourn was to allow the prosecution and defence to call 29 witnesses to testify in court.Mohammed Gaiz Hussein Abdullah, Mohammed Abdullah Rubaa and Mohamed Ahmed Salah Felaifel are charged with premeditated murder and the possession of unlicensed weapons and explosives.
Sunday’s session, the second in the trial that opened in early July, came a day after explosions in the southern Sinai resort of Sharm al-Sheikh. Egypt’s interior minister said on Saturday that he did not rule out a connection between the two incidents. Three almost simultaneous explosions occurred last autumn at the Taba Hilton and two nearby beach camping sites killing 34 and injuring 157. The casualties included many Israelis as Sinai is a popular holiday destination among them.
Abdullah and Rubaa appeared at the state security emergency court in Ismailia, 140 kilometres northeast of Cairo, while Felaifel remains at large. Six others implicated in the incidents are dead. Four died in the course of operations while the other two were killed in clashes when police pursued them.