Families of the January 25 Revolution’s martyrs in Suez began protesting in the city’s El-Arbaeen Square Monday ‎after a criminal court released, on bail, 14 police officers accused of killing ‎‎protesters during the ‎‎18-day-uprising.‎

About 100 family members of the martyrs have blocked off the Cairo-Seuz desert road, in protest.

Gamal Owais, a lawyer and member of the Suez Youth Bloc, told Ahram Online: “We don’t know when we are going to open the roads; we are not only protesting the verdict; we are protesting the way the military and the police are treating the families of the martyrs.”

Some protesters vowed to seek extrajudicial vengeance. Tamer ‎Radwan, brother of martyr Sherif Radwan, declared: “The law is over now and we need to ‎avenge the blood of the Suez martyrs.”

‎“We knew well that this verdict would be issued, even before the session. The [accused] ‎officers knew it too,” he added.‎

Demonstrators ‎are currently considering the option of staging a sit-in in the square.‎

Suez’s criminal court released each police officers on a LE10,000 bail.

In what is becoming a recurrent scene, the families of the martyrs, angry at the court’s ‎decision, attempted to break into the courthouse shortly after the verdict was returned. ‎

They clashed with security personnel in ‎the ‎process.‎

The police officers, some high-ranking, were indicted on charges of ‎‎deliberate ‎manslaughter, having fired live rounds at peaceful demonstrators during the 18-day ‎uprising.‎

The trial will resume on 14 September.‎

Over 1000 were killed during those 18 days which ended on 11 February with the ‎‎ouster ‎of president Hosni Mubarak.‎

https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/15620.aspx