COMMUNISTS IN EGYPT

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28976, 18 August 1959, Page 13

COMMUNISTS IN EGYPT

Trial Begins In Alexandria

ALEXANDRIA. August 16

One of the biggest trials of alleged Communists in the Middle East opened in Alexandria yesterday when a group of defendants were accused of trying to overthrow the regime of President Nasser.

They were charged with organising, directing and recruiting for an underground organisation of the Egyptian Communist Party, and calling for the overthrow of the social regime. The accused were among more than 200 persons arrested in a New Year swoop, which, observers said, broke the back of the small but vocal Egyptian and Syrian Communist parties. About 500 persons, including relatives of the accused, packed the Court. The accused were heavily guarded but not handcuffed when they appeared. Among the defendants was Morsi el Hadad, a former professor of the law faculty at Alexandria University, who is regarded as a key figure in the trial.

The prosecution had before them in the Court 1200 pages of case files, including the indictment. Forty witnesses are expected to give evidence.

Chopped Man’s Feet Off,—The Djakarta Special Court imprisoned a man for eight years for having chopped off the feet of another man. The accused said he attacked the man in revenge for having killed his brother.— Djakarta. August 17.