Egypt drops hundreds of charges over post-Mubarak violence

Protesters are seen by firelight as they run from tear gas fired by the military and riot police during clashes along a road which leads to the Interior Ministry, near Tahrir Square in Cairo in this file photo taken November 23, 2011.

CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian court dismissed cases against 379 people accused of involvement in clashes with police during protests near the Interior Ministry in November 2011 in which 42 demonstrators were killed, the state news agency reported.

Saturday's decision was based on President Mohamed Mursi's offer of an amnesty for those facing charges related to events during and after the 2011 uprising that ended the 30-year rule of Hosni Mubarak, the agency reported.

Cairo and other cities saw many violent protests against the army rulers who took over interim power after Mubarak was ousted on February 11, 2011.

Judge Gamal el-Din Safwat Roshdy, who presided over the Cairo criminal court, dismissed the cases against 379 suspects linked to clashes in Mohamed Mahmoud Street, the agency said.

The street, which lies next to Cairo's Tahrir Square and near the Interior Ministry, became a focus of violent protests in November 2011 by demonstrators who accused the ruling generals of employing the same heavy-handed police tactics as Mubarak.

The generals handed power to Mursi after he was elected president in June 2012.

(Writing by Edmund Blair, Editing by Mark Trevelyan)