The prosecutor arguing the Battle of the Camel case said in Cairo Criminal Court on Wednesday that the crime “is a grisly one, and the prosecution shudders at the brutality and treachery in the case.”

Wael Shebl, the prosecution’s representative, said the suspects “have been smoldering with anger at the 25 January revolution and were plotting conspiracies both before and after the ouster of Mubarak.”

Twenty-four former National Democratic Party members and businessmen are being tried for the attack on Tahrir Square that took place on 2-3 February 2011. The attack has become known as the Battle of the Camel because some of the assailants rode horses and camels.

“The suspects had the desire to intimidate peaceful demonstrators who were protesting deteriorating conditions in the country. They hired mobs and terrorist groups and provided them with the means of transportation to commit their crime,” Shebl said.

The prosecution added that the defendants ordered police to assault peaceful protesters and exploited state institutions to abort the revolution.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm