Egypt

Police appeal of Khaled Saeed murder conviction postponed to November

The Court of Cassation adjourned Thursday the trial of two police officers who are appealing their conviction on charges of torturing activist Khaled Saeed to death to 1 November.

The court is considering the case of low-ranking police officers Mahmoud Salah and Awad Suleiman, who were sentenced by Alexandria Criminal Court to seven years in prison for beating Saeed to death in 2010.

Public Prosecutor Abdel Meguid Mahmoud referred the defendants to the criminal court in July 2010 after the prosecution accused them of unlawfully arresting and torturing a citizen.

After Saeed's death, the Ministry of Interior, led by then-Interior Minister Habib al-Adly, claimed that the victim had drugs in his possession when he was apprehended and that he died after swallowing a packet of marijuana when he was approached by the police officers.

Saeed's death focused attention on police brutality and is widely believed to have been a key factor behind the 25 January revolution.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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