The Qena Criminal Court sentenced six police officers to between three years and seven years in prison over the torture of an Egyptian citizen to death in Luxor police station last November. The low-ranking policemen are accused of “participating in the crime of beating which led to the death of the citizen Talaat Shabib while in custody by police officers from the investigation [unit], inside the Luxor police station.” Shabib, 47, was arrested on Nov. 24 at 11 pm at a cafe in the district of al-Awamya on suspicion of possessing Tramadol, a pain killer used ubiquitously as a recreational drug in Egypt. Within a few hours his family received information that he died as he was being transferred to Luxor International Hospital. Police officer Samir Hany was given a seven-year prison sentence, while the other five officers were handed a three-year sentence each, according to the lawyer of Shabib’s family, Khaled Ali. Meanwhile, the court acquitted three police officers and four conscripts, who were also accused in the case. The court also obliged the interior minister to pay EGP 1.5 million in compensation to Shabib’s wife as the guardian of their children. Shabib’s death sparked public outrage…
Six Policemen Sentenced to Prison for Torturing Citizen to Death in Luxor
July 14, 2016
