Cairo court sentences 9 policemen to 3 years in prison for torturing fish vendor to death

Ahram Online , Saturday 12 Dec 2020

An autopsy report by the state's forensic medicine authority following the incident said the post-mortem examination revealed Magdy Makeen had been subjected to torture, said prosecutors

File Photo: Magdy Makeen
File Photo: Magdy Makeen
A Cairo criminal court sentenced nine policemen to three years in prison over torturing a fish vendor to death while in police custody at Cairo’s Al-Amiriya police station late in 2016.
 
The court acquitted the tenth and last defendant in the case of charges.
 
This came as 10 policemen were referred to the criminal court over causing the death of 53-year-old Magdy Makeen after he was arrested during a brawl with a policeman.
 
A judicial source said that Makeen was arrested for possession of drugs.
 
An autopsy report by the state's forensic medicine authority following the incident said the post-mortem examination revealed Makeen had been subject to torture, prosecutors added.
 
The policemen denied physically assaulting Makeen or the two other people who were arrested with him.
 
The interior ministry has stated that such violations represent isolated incidents, while critics believe that policemen act with impunity against some citizens.
 
Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in 2017 pledged to hold accountable policemen guilty of "violations" after a series of deaths in police custody, allegedly caused by torture, sparked public outcry.
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