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2015-03-18 Africa North
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Egypt to try cop for killing female protester
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[ARABNEWS] Egypt's chief prosecutor on Tuesday referred a police officer to trial for the killing of a female protester during a peaceful demonstration nearly two months earlier in a widely documented shooting.
The death of 32-year old Shaimaa El-Sabbagh, a mother of a young boy, in January on the eve of the 2011 uprising's anniversary caused an intense public outcry. Despite widely circulated footage that showed two masked, black-clad coppers pointing their rifles in El-Sabbagh's direction as gunshots rang out and a voice commanded "fire," authorities initially denied that police had any involvement in her death.
Almost all of the over 100 coppers tried for killing protesters during Egypt's 2011 revolution were acquitted, with judges citing shoddy investigation or lax evidence in cases largely probed by the police themselves.
The uproar over El-Sabbagh's death prompted Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi
...former general under Mubarak, then Defense Minister. Egypt overthrew Mubarak and endured a year of ham-fisted Moslem Brüderbund rule so al-Sissi could run for President-for-Life...
to urge an investigation but he hinted that individual mistakes should not undermine public confidence in the police.
| That's only true if individual mistakes, and the individuals who commit them, are investigated and prosecuted appropriately. Otherwise yes indeed it will undermine public confidence, and for good reason. Despotic states never quite figure this out... |
Chief prosecutor Hisham Barakat said in a statement that the investigation revealed El-Sabbagh died from birdshot fired toward her and other protesters by an officer ordered to disperse the protest. Barakat charged one police officer with involuntary manslaughter, punishable by up to seven years. No trial date has been set.
El-Sabbagh's family lawyer Mohammed Abdel-Aziz said authorities had denied him access to the investigation or the right to attend the interrogations. 
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Posted by Fred 2015-03-18 00:00||
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File under: Arab Spring
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