Cairo Appeals Court on Tuesday set March 5 as the start date in the trial of a police officer for killing a driver on Thursday in Darb al-Ahmar, an incident that sparked popular protests outside the Cairo Security Directorate and prompted Egypt's presidency and government to push for police reform.
Mostafa Abdel Hakim is facing charges of murdering Mohamed Ali Sayyed Ismail (aka Darbaka). The officer, according to investigations, had an argument with the driver over the rate the latter wanted to charge for helping move items for him. The officer shot the driver in the head, but told investigators he meant to threaten him, rather than kill.
Interior Minister Magdy Abdel Ghaffar met with the victim's family in order to calm down anti-police sentiment in Darbaka's Cairo neigborhood and vowed legal action against police violations.
