Egypt court sentences 7 to death for policeman killing

By Sayed Fathi

CAIRO (AA) – An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced seven people to death for alleged links to the 2013 killing of a senior police officer, according to a judicial source.

The court also slapped five people with a 10-year jail term each and acquitted another defendant in the same case, the source said anonymously due to restrictions on speaking to media.

The defendants were accused of killing a senior police officer during a police raid in Kerdasa, west of Cairo, weeks after the military coup against elected President Mohamed Morsi.

Saturday’s verdicts are still subject to appeal.

“We will appeal the verdict before the Court of Cassation, Egypt’s highest appellate court,” defense lawyer Abdel-Hamid Salem told Anadolu Agency.

“If the appeal is rejected, the death penalty will be implemented against the seven,” he said.

Egypt has been roiled by turmoil since the military unseated Morsi, the country’s first freely elected president, in a 2013 coup.

Since then, hundreds have been sentenced to death on charges of incitement to violence.