ICC Note: An accused police officer was recently released by the Cairo Criminal Court after he violently killed a street vendor last November. The officer was released on bail but will still have to appear before the court in the continuing trial. According to prosecutors, the Christian street vendor died of torture with signs of excessive abuse to his back.

02/13/2017 Egypt (Daily News Egypt): The Cairo Criminal Court ordered on Tuesday the release of police officer Karim Magdy, who is accused of torturing street vendor Magdy Makeen to death last November. The court accepted the appeal of the officer against the prosection’s decision which previously ordered his detention for 45 days.

The officer was released on bail of EGP 5,000; however, he will still have to appear before the court to continue the trial.

The officer’s lawyer, Tarek Said, previously demanded the release of his client, arguing that he has a fixed address and a fixed occupation at the Ministry of Interior. He also argued that the forensics report did not cite any signs of torture on Makeen’s body.

Said is known for defending police officers accused of committing violations against citizens in police stations or in protests.

This comes in opposition to the statement of lawyer Mohamed Osman, who is a member of the defence team representing Makeen’s family. The report said that the death was the result of torture, adding that the report indicated that someone had stood on Makeen’s back.

Makeen’s case has caused nationwide controversy, leading to the intervention of some Coptic officials from the Church. After the incident, Minister of Interior Magdy Abdel Ghaffar addressed the issue, adding that violations are individual acts, vowing to take actions against any perpetrators.

The officer was suspended from his work, but is still an employee of the ministry.

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