Egyptian socialist activist Shaimaa Al-Sabbagh, who was shot by a policeman, was killed by the birdshot used because she was “too slim” and had “no fats”, said Egypt’s Forensic Medicine Authority.

Hisham Abdel-Hamid, the Foresnic Medicine Authority’s spokesperson, told Sada El-Balad television channel that Shaimaa was “not supposed to die” and that her death was an “extremely rare” but “sad” case.

“Shaimaa had “no fats, so [birdshot] particles easily penetrated into her heart and lungs causing her death,” said the spokesperson in comments to the television channel, reported Ahram Online.

“It is impossible that small-particle birdshot from an eight-metre distance kills…But this is her fate.”

Comparing Shaimaa’s case to that of her colleague, the spokesperson added that the colleague standing next to her did not die after being shot in the neck as he had a “layer of fat.”

Shaimaa, a member of the Socialist Popular Alliance Party (SPAP), sustained a birdshot wound that ultimately led to her death during protests on the eve of the January 25 revolution’s fourth anniversary in January.

A day after her death, former Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim said “we are committed to the results of the investigation,” adding that if it is proven that a policeman is responsible for Sabbagh’s death, “I will hand him in myself.”

On March 17, Egypt’s Prosecutor-General revealed that the killer of the activist was a police officer from the Central Security Forces and that he would stand trial for the use of ammunition that led to her death.

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