Naharnet

Egypt Court Jails Policemen over Detainee Death

An Egyptian court sentenced on Wednesday six policemen to jail for torturing a detainee to death, the latest such ruling after the government pledged to crack down on police abuses.

The Cairo court sentenced an officer to five years in prison, another to one year, and four policemen to three years, a judicial official said. 

They had been convicted of beating to death Saed Said, a 26-year old accountant, in a police station in 2012.

In July last year, a court in southern Egypt sentenced six policemen to prison for beating to death a 47-year old detainee.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has promised to toughen laws on police abuses, while also saying such incidents do not reflect on the entire police force.

Rights groups say abuses have become rampant since the military, then led by Sisi, overthrow Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

Police abuses had partly fueled a 2011 uprising that overthrew veteran strongman Hosni Mubarak, who ruled Egypt for 30 years.

Source: Agence France Presse


Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/227366