An Egyptian court sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday a policeman for fatally shooting a vendor in an argument over the price of a cup of tea earlier this year.
The incident, which took place in the Cairo suburb of New Cairo last April, was among a series of police abuses that sparked outrage—one of the main catalysts of the 2011 popular revolt that forced out longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
The court convicted low-ranking officer Zeinhom Abdel-Razek of murdering the street vendor during an argument over the price of a cup of tea. The defendant was also convicted of attempted murder of two passersby who were wounded in the shooting.
The sentence can be appealed. A life sentence in Egypt runs for 25 years.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has vowed to punish policemen found guilty of wrongdoing. The interior ministry has stated that such violations represent isolated incidents, while critics believe that policemen still act within a climate of impunity.
In August, a low-ranking policeman killed a microbus driver in the Cairo suburb of Maadi while intervening to break up a fight between the man and another driver. He is currently being detained, but a trial date has not been set.
In February, a low-ranking policeman killed a driver in the working-class Cairo district of El-Darb El-Ahmar following a dispute over a fare, prompting protests. The policeman was sentenced to life in prison, a verdict which can still be appealed.
In November of last year, three people died in police custody within a week in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia and the southern city of Luxor, inflaming anger towards police.
