Six Egyptian policemen jailed for torture

CAIRO

Egypt’s highest appellate court on Wednesday upheld jail terms handed down against six policemen convicted earlier of torturing a detainee to death inside a police station, according to a local judicial source.

The Court of Cassation rejected an appeal lodged by one of the policemen against his seven-year jail sentence, which he received after being convicted of torturing a detainee to death in 2015 in the southern city of Luxor, the source said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to media.

The court also upheld three-year jail terms handed down against the five other policemen in the case and ordered Interior Minister Magdi Abdul-Ghaffar to pay an $85,000 fine.

The six policemen were detained in connection with the death in 2015 of Talaat Shabeeb, 45, inside a Luxor police station -- an incident that had prompted mass protests in the city at the time.

Wednesday’s verdicts are final and cannot be appealed by higher courts.

Human rights groups frequently accuse Egypt’s police apparatus of engaging in the “widespread and systematic” use of torture -- allegations the Egyptian authorities typically deny.

Reporting by Mustafa Eid and Sayed Fathi; Writing by Mohamed Sabry Emam Muhammed

CAIRO

The court also upheld three-year jail terms handed down against the five other policemen in the case and ordered Interior Minister Magdi Abdul-Ghaffar to pay an $85,000 fine.

The six policemen were detained in connection with the death in 2015 of Talaat Shabeeb, 45, inside a Luxor police station -- an incident that had prompted mass protests in the city at the time.

Wednesday’s verdicts are final and cannot be appealed by higher courts.

Human rights groups frequently accuse Egypt’s police apparatus of engaging in the “widespread and systematic” use of torture -- allegations the Egyptian authorities typically deny.

Reporting by Mustafa Eid and Sayed Fathi; Writing by Mohamed Sabry Emam Muhammed