Mahalla 49 Trial: 22 convicted

Posted on By 3arabawy

It’s a sad day!

An Egyptian emergency court convicted 22 people for participating in deadly food riots in April, handing out sentences ranging from three to five years, the presiding judge said.
The remaining 27 defendants in the high profile case held in the northern provincial capital of Tanta 55 miles (90 kilometers) north of Cairo, were acquitted, Judge Alsayyed Abdel-Maaboud told The Associated Press.
Defendants screamed at the judge calling him unjust when the verdicts were read out, with some fainting, according to witnesses inside the court.
Thousands of residents of the gritty industrial town of Mahalla al-Kobra rioted in April for two days over the hardships caused by high food prices, destroying posters of the president and clashing with security troops.
The demonstrations were quashed by tear gas and shotgun-wielding security forces who killed three people and arrested dozens of others.

Italy: GENERAL STRIKE!

Posted on By 3arabawy

First Greece and now Italy!

Thousands of workers, students, pensioners and the unemployed marched in heavy rain through cities across Italy on Friday to protest the government’s handling of the economic crisis.
A daylong general strike by Italy’s largest union curtailed services at hospitals and schools, shut down banks and post offices, while the demonstrations snarled traffic in Rome, Milan and other cities.
With Europe slipping into recession, anger over its economic woes has been bubbling over into protests and unrest across the continent.
Thursday’s strike was called a month ago by the CGIL union to put pressure on the conservative government of Premier Silvio Berlusconi.
In Rome, protesters waved unions flags and held up banners reading “united against layoffs” and “more jobs, more wages, more pensions, more rights.”
The government said the strike by the left-leaning CGIL was politically motivated and would further damage the economy, which has contracted for two consecutive quarters.