Suspended sentences in Cairo embassy riots

CAIRO, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- A military court in Cairo issued suspended six-month prison sentences for 87 people arrested for rioting at the Israeli Embassy in September, a lawyer said.

The defense lawyer said the Egyptian court dismissed charges of thuggery and intimidating the public in its ruling Monday, al-Masry al-Youm reported.

"The defense will challenge the charge of assembling a crowd due to lack of evidence, especially since the defendants are not affiliated with any political organization and there is no specific relationship between them [and other organizations]," attorney Mohamed Abdel Aziz said.

Egyptian military police arrested the defendants Sept. 9-10 following riots in front of the Israeli and Saudi embassies and the Giza Security Directorate. Three people died and more than 1,000 were wounded, including 44 police officers. The defendants, including nine minors, were charged with committing acts of thuggery, intimidating the public, assembling a crowd and assaulting a public employee.