Cairo - An Egyptian court on Monday sentenced a police officer
to 10 years in prison in a retrial for the killing of a protester
more than two years ago.
Shaimaa al-Sabbagh, a young socialist activist, died when police
violently dispersed a January 2015 street rally near Tahrir Square in
which she was participating.
First Lieutenant Yassin Hatem was charged in June 2015 for
manslaughter and received a 15-year-prison sentence. However, the
Court of Cassation cancelled the sentence and ordered a retrial
later.
Al-Sabbagh's killing drew widespread condemnation in Egypt and
abroad. Pictures of the young mother dying in the arms of a comrade
were published worldwide.
Autopsy results showed that pellets from a birdshot round had
penetrated her lungs.
undefinedThe case garnered attention when the country's top prosecutor
referred the police officer to trial, as such moves against police
are rare in Egypt.
Al-Sabbagh was participating in protests marking the fourth
anniversary of the 2011 revolt that ended three decades of president
Hosny Mubarak's rule.