A Cairo court acquitted three former policemen Thursday on charges of torturing five Islamist militants who were in their custody during the rule of president Hosni Mubarak, judicial sources said.

 

The former officers were accused of giving electric shocks to the militants, depriving them of food and beating them during interrogation.

 

It is unclear whether the five militants are still in jail or have been freed since Mubarak's ouster in a popular uprising in January 2011.

 

Thursday's ruling comes a day after a court in Alexandria sentenced 14 women it said belonged to the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood to 11 years in jail, and another seven female minors to a juvenile detention centre.

 

The women and girls were accused of taking part in a violent protest in October.

 

Their sentencing was the latest in an ongoing government crackdown against supporters of former president Mohamed Morsi since the army removed him from power on July 3 following mass protests against him.

 

More than 1,000 people have been killed in the crackdown and during clashes between pro- and anti-Morsi groups, while thousands have been arrested, mostly Islamists.

 

Morsi was voted into office in the country's first free election since Mubarak stood down in February 2011 in the face of a popular uprising.

 

*This story has been edited by Ahram Online