Egyptian court recommends execution of 25 over violence

An Egyptian court recommended on Wednesday death penalty for 25 people over deadly clashes in 2014 in southern Aswan province, official MENA news agency reported.

The criminal court referred the files of the 25 defendants to the mufti, the country's top scholar in Islamic law, to seek his esteemed but nonbinding opinion on the court ruling.

The 25 defendants were among 163 people accused of killing 28 people in clashes between two tribes that erupted after a woman was harassed in April 2014.

Witnesses said the fighting clans, Bani Hilal and Nubian Daboudiya tribes, used machine guns and Molotov cocktails while security forces fired tear gas to disperse them, noting it was impossible for ambulances to reach the overwhelming scene.

Out of total 163 defendants, 75 were tried in absentia. The trial is held in another southern province for security reasons.

Tribal feuds and vendettas are common in Upper Egypt's impoverished provinces with security officials sometimes mediating to settle such disputes and avoid escalation of violence. Endit