CAIRO: A group of independent lawyers have filed a case with the Administrative Court demanding that two policemen implicated in the death of Khaled Saeid be tried in an Emergency State Security Court, Al-Masry Al-Youm reported Wednesday.
The trial of Mahmoud Salah Mahmoud and Awad Suleiman accused of misuse of force against Saeid began on Tuesday and is being heard by the Alexandria Criminal Court.
According to Al-Masry Al-Youm lawyers say that, “the death of Khaled Saeid and the torture and beating he received at the hands of the policemen spread fear amongst the Egyptian public.”
Lawyers also reportedly state in the lawsuit that details of the investigation into the case published by the media “has tarnished Egypt’s image abroad, particularly after large number of foreign NGOs involved themselves in the case and announced that they would be following the investigation.”
Egypt’s emergency state security courts are heavily criticised by rights groups for lacking the basic guarantees of a fair trial.
