Egypt tries 292 for plots to assassinate Sisi

By Mustafa Eid

CAIRO

Egyptian authorities said Sunday Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi had faced two assassination attempts since 2014.

In a statement, prosecutor-general Nabil Sadeq said 292 suspects were referred to a military court for membership in Welayat Sinai (Province of Sinai) militant group, the local affiliate of Daesh terrorist group.

The statement said the suspects had carried out 18 “terrorist” attacks, mostly in the Sinai Peninsula, which has been roiled by insurgency since 2013.

Sadeq said investigations unveiled two cells that had plotted to kill Sisi, one during his pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia in 2014.

The suspects allegedly planned to assassinate Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef during the same plot, the statement said, giving no further details.

The statement said six dismissed police officers had also plotted to kill Sisi, a former army chief who led the military to depose Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected president, in a 2013 coup.

The prosecutor-general said the suspects had also planned to kill former interior minister Mohamed Ibrahim, who gave orders to disperse a pro-Morsi protest camp in Cairo in mid-2013.

Hundreds were killed and thousands injured when security forces violently dispersed the camp in eastern Cairo’s Rabaa al-Adawiya square.

Since Morsi’s overthrow, Egyptian authorities have launched a relentless crackdown on dissent, killing hundreds and detaining thousands.