Egypt refuses to classifyRussia's A321 plane crash as terrorism

Egyptian appeals court ruled that a Russian passenger plane crash in Egypt in 2015 was not an act of terrorism and the identities of its victims are unknown, according to the Kommersant business daily.

Metrojet Flight 9268 crashed minutes after takeoff from the Egyptian resort Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg on October 31, 2015, killing all 224 people onboard.

Thirty of the victims’ families sued high-level Egyptian officials at the time of the tragedy, claiming criminal negligence that allowed terrorists to bring a bomb onboard. The families also filed lawsuits against Russia’s Metrojet airline and the Ingosstrakh insurance company in Egypt’s jurisdiction.

An appeals court in Cairo turned down the families’ lawsuit against Egypt’s then-prime minister, as well as the country’s interior, finance and aviation chiefs, Kommersant reported. The decision upheld a lower court’s 2018 ruling.

The court also struck down the lawsuit against Metrojet and Ingosstrakh, Kommersant reported, ruling that the identities of the 224 victims have not been officially established and that it's impossible to issue compensation to them as a result.