EGYPT COURT OVERTURNS DEATH SENTENCES FOR TRIBESMEN

May 4, 2017:

More than two dozen Egyptians sentenced to death have been ordered by the court of cassation to be retried.
A judicial official said on May 4 that the appeals court had overturned the death sentences for 25 people involved in the deadly 2014 Aswan tribal clashes. Eighteen life sentences were also overturned by the court.
The original sentences issued in 2016 were related to tribal clashes between the Bani Hilal and Daboudia tribes in early April 2014 in the southern Aswan region which left 28 people dead and dozens injured.
Long-standing fighting between the two rival tribes is common in the impoverished region.   
The vendetta between the Bani Hilal, an Arab tribe, and the Daboudiya, a Nubian family, last flared after a male from one tribe sexually harassed a female from the rival tribe.
The harassment heightened tensions between the two tribes. The two sides had sought to resolve the tensions with a reconciliation meeting, but it turned into a firefight that killed three Bani Hilal tribesmen.
The following day, renewed clashes killed a further 25 people, prompting the army to intervene to stop the violence. Police arrested 82 members of the Daboudia tribe and 81 from the Bani Hilal.
Prosecution also ordered the arrest of 97 others for involvement in the violence.
Those who were arrested faced charges for various offenses, ranging from murder and possession of arms to theft, arson, abduction and resisting arrest.