Egypt Court Acquits 155 Arrested after Cairo Protests

An Egyptian court acquitted 155 people arrested during deadly clashes in the capital between Islamist protesters and police in October, state media reported Sunday.

The Cairo misdemeanor court on Saturday dismissed the charges of assaulting policemen and vandalism over the October 6 clashes that killed almost 50 people, state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper reported.

Appeals courts in Alexandria the same day ordered the release of 21 female protesters, including 14 women previously sentenced to up to 11 years in jail for a violent protest in the coastal city.

More than 1,000 people have been killed and thousands arrested in a police crackdown on Islamist supporters of president Mohamed Morsi following his overthrow in July.

Morsi and much of the leadership of his Muslim Brotherhood movement are now standing trial on charges of inciting violence during and after his turbulent one year in power.