Egypt: 9 policemen jailed for torturing fish seller to death

Nine Egyptian policemen have been jailed for torturing a fish seller to death.

Magdy Makin, a 50-year-old Coptic fish seller, was arrested and detained in El-Amiria Police Station in November 2016 where he died.

When his family went to collect his body, they saw signs of torture on him.

An autopsy report revealed he had died from blood clots in his lungs as a result of someone standing on his back. He had also been lashed on his stomach.

Torture inside police stations in Egypt is a regular occurrence yet police officers and security forces are rarely held to account.

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Magdy’s death ignited extensive coverage on social media which led to the arrest of a police officer and three low-ranking officers.

They were also charged with forging his arrest warrant and intentionally damaging the interior ministry.

One of the police officers in the case was acquitted.

In October, Awais Al-Rawi was shot to death by an Egyptian policeman during the September protests after he objected to them insulting and abusing his father and entering the house without a warrant.

His death also went viral on social media, with users posting under the Arabic hashtag, We are all Awais Al-Rawi.

In early September protests broke out in Giza after a young man, Islam the Australian, died of torture in a police station.

Khaled Saeed became an icon of police brutality after images of his battered corpse went viral in 2010 and contributed towards the Egyptian revolution.

However, despite the fact that during the 2011 uprising revolutionaries demanded an end to police violence, it has intensified under the current regime.

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