Policeman sentenced to death for protest deaths
A criminal court in Cairo sentenced a police officer to death in absentia Sunday for killing protesters, the first such ruling to be passed since pro-democracy demonstrators ousted Hosni Mubarak on February 11.
Police sergeant Mohamed Abdel-Monem was convicted of killing 20 protesters and wounding 15 others in one of the bloodiest episodes of the anti-government protests.
The sentence sends an unnerving signal to other security officials charged with having a role in killing protesters, including the former Interior Minister Habib al-Adli, who has already been sentenced to 12 years in prison for graft.
The court referred the case to the Grand Mufti, Egypt's religious authority who must approve all death sentences. The sentence against Abdel-Monem, who has evaded capture, would be confirmed on June 26 pending the Mufti's approval.
