Egypt's Chief Prosecutor Nabil Sadek has issued a decision to refer 40 people to trial on charges of forming a criminal network for human trafficking and migrant smuggling.
Sadek said Wednesday in a statement that the suspects face an array of additional charges including bribery, forging official documents, facilitating illegal immigration and sex trafficking.
No date has been set for trial. The suspects could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Also Wednesday, Sadek issued a decision to refer to trial four defendants in a collision between two trains in Beheira, north of Cairo, in February. They are four rail workers from the signaling system department in the railway authority.
Seven people were killed and 49 others injured in the collision that took place when two passenger carriages separated from one train and collided with a cargo train.
Investigations revealed that the tragedy was caused by human error, as well as giving orders to switch the route of one of the trains before making sure that all its carriages passed the switch point, the prosecutor’s office said.
