The Court of Cassation has set 4 October to consider an appeal by two police officers convicted for killing Khaled Saeed, a young man in Alexandria. His death in 2010 focused attention on police brutality and is widely believed to have been a key factor leading up to 25 January revolution.
The court will consider an appeal by Mahmoud Salah and Awad Suleiman, sentenced by Alexandria Criminal Court to seven years imprisonment after being found guilty for beating the young Khaled Saeed to death.
After Saeed's death, the Ministry of Interior, led by former minister Habib al-Adly, claimed that the victim was apprehended with drugs, and that he had died after swallowing a pack of marijuana when he was approached by the police officers.
Pictures of Saeed’s battered face became iconic of police brutality and impunity.
In July 2010, Public Prosecutor Abdel Meguid Mahmoud referred the defendants to the criminal court. Prosecutors accused them of unlawfully arresting and torturing a citizen.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
