A Cairo criminal court on Wednesday handed down sentences of seven years to life to 51 people accused of raiding the Nile City towers buildings in 2012.

In August 2012, Ahmed Fathi, a resident of Ramlet Boulaq, a low-income area next to Cairo's lavish Nile Towers, was shot dead after getting into a fight with a security guard stationed at the towers.

After his death, police arrested several residents of Ramlet Boulaq as part of a crackdown on the neighborhood, which residents described as violent.

The police said Fathi was shot after he attempted to attack a police officer and take his weapon following an argument.

A statement from the ministry of interior said clashes broke out after "thugs" entered the tower's reception and demanded money by force.

However, eyewitnesses told Ahram Online in 2012 that Fathi died following a dispute over the refusal by the property's security office to pay him for temporary work he had carried out.

Two of the defendants received life sentences, seven were given ten years and 22 were given seven years.

The court acquitted another 20 defendants.

The defendants were accused of violence, thuggery, confiscating firearms and resisting authorities.