2 policemen jailed for life in Egypt over deadly torture

Cairo: Two Egyptian policemen were Saturday sentenced to life after they were convicted of torturing a prisoner to death and injuring another, amid growing concerns in the country about alleged police abuses.

The ruling was issued by a criminal court in the Nile Delta province of Tanta, the semi-official newspaper Al Ahram online reported.

None of the convicts was present in the courtroom when the verdict was delivered, according to the paper.

Both convicts, including a police officer with the rank of captain, were found guilty of fatally torturing the prisoner and subjecting the second to electric shocks last year inside a police station in Tanta, around 90km north of Cairo.

The verdict can be appealed.

The ruling comes weeks after a Cairo court sentenced two policemen to five years in prison each on charges of using deadly violence against a detained lawyer allegedly for being a member of the banned Muslim Brotherhood.

Earlier this month, the country’s chief prosecutor referred to trial nine policemen over the death of a man inside police custody in the Upper Egypt city of Luxor, a case that sparked street protests there.

The family of the dead man claimed he had died due to torture by police, an accusation denied by the suspects.

Rights groups have increasingly accused the government of ignoring police’s purported violations. The government has downplayed the alleged abuses as isolated acts, vowing to bring any wrongdoer to justice.

Police abuses were seen as a major catalyst for the 2011 revolt that forced long-time president Hosni Mubarak out of power.

The police system collapsed during the 11-day revolt.

Since the army’s 2011 overthrow of president Mohammad Mursi, police have made a strong comeback amid claims of rights abuses.

In June, Egyptian President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi made a rare public apology to the nation’s lawyers after a police officer assaulted a lawyer.