The Shubra El-Kheima Criminal Court on Thursday found former Qalyoubia Governorate Director of Security Farouk Lasheen and three police generals, innocent of charges of killing protesters during the 2011 uprising that led to the ouster of Hosni Mubarak.

Heavy security was deployed at the court with a strong presence of families of the protesters who were killed and injured during the uprising.

The general prosecutor of Tanta had previously transferred Lasheen, his deputy Gamal Hosni, and generals Ahmed Momtaz and Samir Zaki to the criminal court on charges of ordering and intending the killing of protesters during the uprising.

The prosecution alleged that the defendants had violently restricted protesters from attempting to reach Cairo on 28 January 2011, resulting in the death of approximately 20 and the injury of 40 others.    

However, the court ruled that due to insufficient material evidence the defendants should be acquitted.

According to the BBC news service, witness reports stated that the generals themselves had not been present in police stations at the time of the killings, and were not in possession of firearms during the event.   

The 2011 uprising saw the death of approximately 840 Egyptians with more than 6,000 wounded, according to figures released by Amnesty International.