Monday, March 3, 2014

Ten years for the policemen who killed Khaled Said

The Alexandria Criminal Court sentenced two policemen to 10 years in prison on Monday for the murder of Khaled Said, Egyptian state media reported.
Mahmoud Salah Mahmoud and Awad Soliman were convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison in 2012 for Saeed’s murder in June 2010. After filing an appeal, the two men were facing a retrial.
Khaled Saeed
Khaled Said
State-owned daily Al-Ahram reported that verbal altercations took place between the defendants’ families and security, prompting the judge to evacuate the courtroom, only permitting lawyers and the media to remain.
The newspaper reported that the defendants were being tried on charges of torture, rather than murder or beating that led to death. The sentence handed down for such a charge ranges from three to 15 years in prison.

Saeed was killed at the hands of two police officers in Alexandria. His death became a symbol of police brutality after photographs of his disfigured face quickly went viral on social media. His death was one of the sparks that ignited the revolution of 2011, as it lead to the choice of 25 January, ''Police Day'' as a day of protest.
The forensic doctor who testified in the case had said that Saeed was not beaten to death, but died of asphyxiation after swallowing a bag of hashish.

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