Egypt's prosecution delays decision on 'Nasr City ring'

Nasr city apartment burns following raid on alleged "terrorist cell" Egypt's public prosecution on Sunday has delayed its decision on the case of the "Nasr City terrorist ring" until Tuesday, when further interrogations will be held with the eight suspects arrested thus far. The National Security apparatus said that a list of 50 more suspects - including four Palestinians - was sent to the public prosecution which ordered their arrest and referred them for interrogation, security sources told Arabstoday.
Late in October, the Egyptian Interior Ministry said it had detained eight Islamist militants it suspected of having links to al-Qaeda and planning attacks inside the country and abroad.
The eight suspects allegedly belong to "a terrorist ring" based in the Cairo district of Nasr City, a ministry statement said, adding that they lived in rented apartments and used false names.
In the October raid, Karim Bedeiwy, a Tunisian national who was initially identified as a Libyan, was killed. Officials have said they have information Bedeiwy may have had links to the attack on the US Consulate in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, during which the US ambassador to Libya and three other Americans were killed. This information could not be confirmed.
Last Wednesday, the Egyptian prosecution began questioning the eight suspects.
Adel Shahtu, a leading member of the al-Jamaa al-Jihadiyah group, has been charged by authorities with founding a "terrorist ring" in Cairo's Nasr City district.
The alleged Nasr City ring stands accused of planning terrorist attacks in areas throughout the country.
According to investigators, Shahtu is one of Egypt's most prominent Jihadists. He spent 20 years in prison under the ousted President Hosni Mubarak' regime, and was only released by Egypt's military council – which governed the country for a year and a half following Mubarak's ouster – in April of last year.
Seven other alleged members of the Nasr City ring were also interrogated by prosecution. They were accused of possessing weapons, planning the assassination of public figures, and seeking to topple Egypt's elected government, according to investigators.
  During Sunday's interrogation session, all suspects have denied the accusations. Two of the suspects – one of them is a former army officer – stated they were in Syria when their alleged offences were perpetrated.
The officer – identified as Rami Sayed - said he quit his job as an air force officer to fight alongside the Syrian rebels against Bashar al-Assad's regime. He added that he had contacted a person known to prepare the entry of fighters into Syria to organise his trip to the country, but when he arrived on the prescribed date, he found nobody but the security forces who duly arrested him.
Lawyers for the defendants said they expect the case will not be referred to court because the security charges lack serious evidence, and all the suspects deny their involvement.