A Cairo criminal court has sentenced six policemen to between one to eight years in jail over beating a detainee to death while in police custody last year.

The incident dates back to June 2018, when police personnel at a police station in Hadayek Al-Qobba district in east Cairo beat a detainee arrested over robbery charges to extract a confession. Prosecutors said signs of torture and electrocution were found on the victim's body.

The court sentenced a police officer to eight years in prison, four policemen to seven years and a low-ranking policeman to one year. The defendants were charged with beating leading to death and forging official records.

The sentences can still be appealed.

A number of policemen have been sentenced over abuses and violence over the past few years. The interior ministry denies accusations of widespread torture by police and says it investigates any violations and that such incidents are isolated cases.