An Egyptian court on Tuesday handed down suspended prison sentences to eight policemen of different ranks, convicting them of having killed protesters during the 25 January revolution that ousted president Hosni Mubarak.
On Tuesday, the Damanhour Criminal Court sentenced Major General Magdy Abou Qamar, former Security Chief of Beheira, and seven other policemen to one-year suspended jail terms.
The court also acquitted Mahmoud Barakat, a former senior officer in the Department of Central Security.
Tight security measures were put in place for the session to prevent rioting.
Families of the killed protesters and political leaders, who had said they were planning to stage a peaceful protest in front of the court to call for retribution for the victims, did not attend.
The court started reviewing the case on 23 April 2011. The Public Prosecution had accused the defendants of killing ten protesters and attempting to murder 300 others during the Friday of Anger on 28 January 2011.
An investigation conducted by the prosecution has found that Abou Qamar gave instructions to Central Security Forces (CSF) in Beheira to violently repress protesters, which led to the killing of peaceful demonstrators who were demanding an end to the regime.
During the pleading, Abou Qamar’s lawyers argued that there was a lack of evidence proving that their client had ordered the targeting of protesters, and that the referral order did not actually name the officer who had committed the crime.
Edited translation from MENA
