Egypt policeman to face trial in death of female protester

CAIRO // Egypt’s state prosecutor referred a police officer to trial on Tuesday for allegedly shooting to death a leftist female protester during a peaceful rally in central Cairo.

The death of Shaimaa El Sabbagh, which was partly captured by a photographer, prompted president Abdel Fattah El Sisi to publicly demand that the perpetrator be brought to justice.

El Sabbagh was shot dead as police dispersed a small march of left-wing demonstrators on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the January 25 uprising.

The marchers had been carrying a wreath to a monument commemorating the deaths of protesters during the revolt that toppled president Hosni Mubarak.

The police officer, who was not named by the prosecution, will stand trial before a criminal court. The charges against him do not include murder or manslaughter, but instead “battery that led to death” and “deliberately” wounding other protesters.

It is the first time a policeman has been referred to trial for allegedly killing someone during a protest since the military’s overthrow of president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

However, police have been accused of killing hundreds of protesters since Mr Morsi’s ouster, mostly the former president’s supporters.

The prosecutor said an investigation had found that the officer shot dead El Sabbagh with birdshot, which police often use in crowd control.

Police had denied involvement in El Sabbagh’s death, suggesting that the birdshot which perforated her chest was not police-issued.

The prosecutor also referred protesters who had participated in the march to trial for violating a law that bans all but police-sanctioned demonstrations.

* Agence France-Presse