• 05:42
  • Wednesday ,21 September 2016
العربية

Egypt court sentences 9 policemen to 3 years in prison for assaulting doctors

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11:09

Wednesday ,21 September 2016

Egypt court sentences 9 policemen to 3 years in prison for assaulting doctors

 A Cairo misdemeanour court sentenced on Tuesday nine lower-ranking policemen to three years in prison over assaulting two doctors at Matariya Teaching Hospital in January.

The court set bail at EGP 2,000 bail for the policemen, who are currently not in custody. The verdict can still be appealed.
 
Prosecution accused the defendants of verbally and physically assaulting the doctors while they were examining one of the policemen, where the doctor conducting the examination refused to include fake injuries in the medical report after a request by one of the policeman who came to the hospital with a wound on his face.
 
In retaliation, the policeman called a group of other policemen to the hospital who assaulted the doctor and some of his colleagues before taking them to the police station, where they were later released.
 
The incident sparked anger, leading doctors to hold a protest at the Doctors Syndicate to demand the policemen stand trial and for the health minister to be sacked.
 
Tuesday's sentence is the latest related to a series of incidents involving police violations and abuses. 
 
Earlier this year, another low-ranking policeman killed a driver in the working-class Cairo district of El-Darb El-Ahmar following a dispute over a fare. A court sentenced the policeman to life in prison this month, one of the harshest sentences issued against police officials convicted of similar violent crimes.
 
The verdict can still be appealed.
 
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi had vowed that policemen found guilty of "committing wrongdoings" would be punished, and Interior Minister Magdy Abdel-Ghaffar has maintained that such violations represent "isolated incidents" as opposed to a systemic problem.