6 Egyptian policemen jailed for beating detainee to death

An Egyptian court yesterday sentenced six police officers to between three and seven years in prison after they were found guilty of beating a man to death while he was in police custody, a legal source said.

The Qena Criminal Court convicted policeman Samir Imam, 24, and sentenced him to seven years for beating the detainee to death.

Another five officers were sentenced to three years, while seven policemen were acquitted.

The court also ordered the interior ministry to pay 1.5 million Egyptian pounds ($170,000) to the man’s family.

Khalid Ali, a member of the defence team for the family of Talaat Shabib, said: “The Qena Criminal Court decided, on Tuesday, to imprison six policemen and acquitted seven others for beating citizen Talaat Shabib to death in one of the police stations in Luxor.”

The lawyer stressed that the judgment can be appealed.

He explained that Talaat Shabib, 45, “died of torture, on 24 November 2015, at Luxor Police station.”

Following his death thousands of people demonstrated in Luxor and condemned police brutality.