Legal changes aimed at improving the conduct of policemen will not include military trials for those policemen accused of violations, Legal Affairs Minister Magdy al-Agati said late on Saturday.
Agati's comments follow an annoucement by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi that legislative changes would be presented to parliament soon in order to reduce the number of violent assaults and other violations by policemen across Egypt.
The anticipated amendments will see changes to the type and severity of penalties applied, the minister said in statements to reporters, stressing that military trials apply only for Armed Forces personnel.
He said police officers would be subjected to “disciplinary councils” that guarantee the right of appeal against verdicts.
“It is the Interior Ministry that is in charge of preparing the draft laws that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered introduced during his meeting with Minister Magdy Abdel Ghaffar," Agati said, adding that the amendments are supposed to “ensure accountability for whoever assaults citizens for no reason.”
The proposed changes will be ready for submission to parliament within 15 days, said the minister.
President Sisi’s instruction to introduce legal changes followed the shooting dead of a driver by a policeman on Thursday night. The shooting occured as the policeman argued with the driver over the cost of a transportation job.
The incident sparked angry protests outside the Cairo Security Directorate.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
