Clashes as Egypt bails police accused of murders

Clashes erupted in Cairo on Monday when a court bailed seven police officers accused of killing protesters during a popular uprising that ousted president Hosni Mubarak earlier this year. Security services said family members of the victims attacked the courthouse on the outskirts of Cairo, before blocking traffic on a highway just outside the capital heading for the canal city of Suez, where the murders occurred. Residents of Suez also cut off traffic on the highway. The seven police officers were released on bail, and their trial, which is being held in Cairo because of the sensitivity of the case in Suez, was adjourned until September 14. The seven are among 14 officers facing court over the murder of 17 protesters and wounding of 300 others. The other seven are on the run and being tried in their absence. The case comes amid heightened tensions in Egypt over the handling of legal proceedings against security forces who used deadly violence in the uprising, killing 846 civilians and wounding thousands, according to official figures. Activists are calling for protests on Friday against the slow pace of justice and calling for those responsible to be punished. Mubarak was forced out of office on February 11 following 18 days of protests. Egypt's new government, led by the military, has sought to calm the situation by announcing the creation of a fund to assist victims' families, which it said on Monday would be worth about $16 million.