Egypt acquits policeman of torturing Islamist to death during Mubarak time

An Egyptian court on Thursday acquitted a police officer of torturing a young Islamist man to death when investigating a church blast case in 2011, a few days before the turmoil that toppled former leader Hosni Mubarak, state-run Ahram news website reported.

Alexandria Criminal Court acquitted State Security officer Mohamed al-Shemi of taking part in the torture and killing of 30-year-old Sayyid Bilal, after al-Shemi appealed a previous verdict in 2013 that sentenced him to 15 years in prison.

The killing of Bilal, who worked for well-known Petrojet oil company, triggered a wave of anger among Egyptians who had already been furious over a similar case of alleged police brutality in which a young man was killed in 2010.

In April, two policemen were referred to a criminal court over torturing a lawyer to death at a police station in Cairo. Their trial is scheduled for early June.

Following the 2011 protest, Mubarak, his two sons, his interior minister and most of his men were arrested over various charges ranging from corruption to ordering to kill protesters, but most of them have been acquitted of the charges.

Earlier in May, Mubarak, currently detained at a military hospital in Cairo due to health problems, and his two sons, Gamal and Alaa, were sentenced to three years in jail after their retrial in a corruption case related to the expenses of the presidential palaces.

Meanwhile, Egyptian courts are currently holding mass trials for thousands of supporters of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, who was ousted by the military in July 2013 following mass protests against his one-year rule.

Morsi along with more than 100 other defendants have recently been handed appealable death sentences over their roles in a mass jailbreak during the 2011 protest. Endit