By Marwa Al-A’asar
ALEXANDRIA/CAIRO: The Alexandria Criminal Court on Thursday adjourned to Sept. 24 the trial of two policemen implicated in the death of 28-year-old Khaled Saeid, forming three specialized committees to re-examine the evidence.
During the hearing held Thursday, the court ordered the formation of a three-member medical committee, led by the deputy coroner, that will include none of the medical examiners who have previously looked into the case.
The court also assigned a second committee of three professors from the universities of Cairo, Alexandria and Ain Shams to examine previous medical reports prepared by the forensics authority.
A technical committee of professors from the Alexandria University’s Faculty of Fine Arts was also formed to inspect the graphic posthumous photograph of Saeid’s badly disfigured face.
“The court responded today to our demands of forming committees…which is likely to change the course of the case,” lawyer Raafat Nawar told Daily News Egypt, adding that the legal team representing Saeid’s family had previously submitted medical reports written by independent consultants.
According to Nawar, the result of the new reports is likely to lead to a change of the charges from excessive use of fore to premeditated murder.
Eyewitnesses said they saw Saeid’s murder after being apprehended by policemen Awad Suleiman and Mahmoud Salah Mahmoud on June 6, 2010 at an internet café in Cleopatra district, Alexandria.
Online activists linked an online video of policemen showcasing money and drugs to Saied’s death. While the video didn’t make it clear whether the police were showing the results of an official drug bust or if it was evidence of corruption, some said Saeid was killed because he was about to release it.
The two policemen in Saeid’s case were referred to criminal court on charges of excessive use of force and wrongful arrest. The first hearing was held last July.
Despite being satisfied with the measures taken by the court, Saeid’s family said the decisions were overdue.
“The court finally responded to the lawyers’ demands … which may eventually lead to a death sentence for the defendants. But such constant delay causes us more pain,” the victim’s brother, Ahmed Saeid, told DNE.
Lawyers representing Saeid’s family repeatedly refuted both the earlier testimony of sacked chief coroner El-Sebaei Ahmed El-Sebaei and the autopsy reports he oversaw, especially since several complaints had already been filed against him for allegedly covering up evidence in other cases.
Initial autopsy reports are believed to be riddled with contradictions: one said Saeid’s death was caused by asphyxiation on a hashish wrap while another indicated the reason for his suffocation was a pack of marijuana. The two wraps were given different measurements.
“We argued that the previous reports were null and void,” Nawar said.
In view of the new reports, a number of Alexandria police officers and detectives may be charged in the case as well, the lawyer added.
In a live interview with ONTV’s “Akher Kalam” talk show in April, El-Sebaei claimed that the deformities on Saeid’s face, including his severely injured lips and bruises around his eyes, resulted from the autopsy procedures.
El-Sebaei also said that Saeid’s broken tooth was an old injury, a claim denied by his sister, Zahra Saeid.
Thursday’s session witnessed extreme security measures as well as intensive media presence. The verdict was expected on June 30. Army forces, trucks and tanks cordoned off the court as hundreds of protesters gathered outside in solidarity with the victim and his family.
Protesters chanted against the interior ministry as well as the head of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawy.
“They removed Hosni … and put the field marshal instead,” they shouted.
SCAF has been ruling the country since former president Hosni Mubarak was forced to step down on Feb. 11, following an 18-day nationwide uprising.
Protesters denounced the trial postponement at first before Nawar appeared at the courthouse gate describing why the court decision was positive.
On June 22, US President Barack Obama received Zahra Saeid at the White House, praising activists from Egypt and Tunisia involved in their countries’ revolution.
Zahraa Saeid and Tunisian blogger Jamel Bettaeib visited Washington DC to receive the 2011 Democracy Award from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) on behalf of the Egyptian and Tunisian citizens for standing against dictatorship.
A Facebook group launched to draw attention to Saied’s death is credited for galvanizing support for the mass protests against corruption, torture and police brutality, which eventually leading to the ouster of Mubarak. – Additional reporting by Mohamed Effat.
