Egypt court adjourns trial of activists who protested in Coptic solidarity

An Egyptian court on Thursday postponed the trial of eight leftist activists who were protesting in Cairo in solidarity with Coptic Christians following an Alexandria church attack on New Year’s Eve which left 23 killed, a judicial source said.  

The activists belong to the Socialist Renewal Current, a small leftist group which was established last year.  

They were arrested last week while demonstrating in Cairo’s Christian-dominated Shubra neighborhood to call for equal treatment of the Christian minority.

The Rawd al-Farag Misdemeanor Court adjourned the activists’ trial until 20 January, a judicial source said.  

The defendants were charged with rioting, disturbing the peace, and vandalizing public property.

The defendants’ lawyers dismissed as “contradictory and baseless” prosecutors’ charges during the court session.

Earlier, investigators said that the accused shattered the glass of 21 police vehicles, four microbuses, and ten private cars.