EGYPT: SUSPECT SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER VILLAGE MASSACRE OF 15

March 21, 2012: In Egypt, Banha Criminal Court sentenced one person to death and six others to prison in the “Kallafeen Massacre” case over a family conflict that killed 15 people in a Qalyubiya village.
An armed conflict reportedly broke out between the Kallafeen and Barbary families in 2008 over a land dispute in Meet Attar village. Barbary family members gathered their relatives and set the other family’s homes on fire.
The public prosecution referred multiple suspects to trial in 2008 over charges of premeditated murder, unlicensed possession of weapons and intimidation of citizens.
A court sentenced seven people to death in May 2009, but they appealed the ruling before the Court of Cassation, which ordered a retrial.
A judicial source told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the Banha court sentenced one suspect to 15 years of hard labor, another to 10 years, three others to five years and one to three years.
The court acquitted five other suspects and three were released after serving their sentences during the trial. (Sources: www.egyptindependent.com 21/03/2012)