Trial of two policemen accused in beating death resumes in Egypt

Sat, 23 Oct 2010

Alexandria, Egypt - The trial of two police officers charged with allegedly beating a young man to death in the city of Alexandria resumed on Saturday.

The death of Khaled Said sparked outrage and large demonstrations against what many people argue has been an attempted police cover-up by security forces.

The trial, which resumed for nearly six hours Saturday and was then adjourned until November 27, resumed with testimonies from the prosecution and the defense.

According to Egyptian daily al-Masry al-Youm, one of the defense witnesses was in the courtroom listening to the statements of another defense witness before he took the stand, which is against the law.

The court disqualified the witness for violation of due process, according to the al-Masry al-Youm.

Said died after being questioned by police on June 7 on a street outside an internet cafe in the coastal city of Alexandria.

According to witnesses, the 28-year-old Said was taken from an internet cafe by two policemen who beat him to death and smashed his head against the pavement.

But a government-ordered autopsy claimed that Said died of asphyxiation when he tried to swallow a bag of marijuana and that the injuries sustained during his arrest had not caused his death.

The Egyptian court system rarely sees security forces brought to trial, yet Mahmoud Salah and Awad Suleiman are under arrest and have been charged with the use of excessive force, among other things.

Rights groups have called on the court to add murder to the list of charges the two policemen face.

Photos posted on the internet showed Said's severely disfigured and crushed head, leading thousands of Egyptians to call for an end to police abuse, a problem they say is endemic in Egypt.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/350084,beating-death-resumes-egypt.html.