The prosecution disclosed the results of its investigation into the killing a driver near Al-Darb Al-Ahmar district by a low-ranking policeman. The shooting followed an argument between the two men on 19 February over the payment for a taxi ride, the Ministry of Interior said in a statement.
The prosecution said the policemen deliberately shot the driver despite purported claims that the shot was targeted towards the sky to dispute the assembly.
When the dispute intensified, the policemen showed his weapon and intentionally shot the driver in the head, intending to injure him, from just four metres away.
The prosecution summoned an array of police officers for testimony as well as eye witnesses who are also residents in the same district. In the results of its investigation, the prosecution said there is consistency between testimonies presented by the nine witnesses summoned.
Before the case garnered major attention on social media and among human rights activists, several media outlets quoted “security sources” saying that the driver was killed when the policeman was trying to break up a fight between civilians on the street.
Following several reported cases of police abuse that gained traction among rights activists and the general public, the Ministry of Interior has repeatedly denied of the accusations of systematic and widespread abuse of power.
Ministry spokesman and Minister of Interior Magdy Abdel Ghaffar himself said any cases of violations are “individual” and do not represent a systematic strategy of the security apparatus.
However, several cases of violations have been met with legal repercussions owing to major attention on social media or in the press, accompanied by pressure from the victim’s families. A number of police officers have been convicted of torturing individuals to death; the officers often receive reduced sentences of up to seven years.
