An Egyptian police officer was charged on Tuesday over the shooting of a young mother at a protest in central Cairo, weeks after a photograph of her bleeding to death went viral and caused an international outcry.
Shaimaa Sabbagh, 32, was shot in January at a march marking the anniversary of the uprising that ousted veteran ruler Hosni Mubarak in 2011. The public prosecutor said in a statement she was killed by an officer who fired birdshot to try to disperse the protest.
The prosecutor sent the case for trial in a criminal court, a rare action against a member of the security forces, on a charge of action that "led to the death of" Sabbagh - a lesser charge than murder.
Fellow activist and lawyer Sayed Abu el-Ila, who was photographed with Sabbagh dying in his arms, told Reuters: "As a friend, a party colleague and a witness to the moment she was murdered, I say that Shaimaa was killed again today with the prosecution's decision."
"We will not allow anybody, whoever he is, to escape punishment, as long as he was proven guilty by the fair judiciary," he added.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, accused by critics of muzzling opponents, had responded to the fury over Sabbagh's killing by referring to her as "my daughter" and "the daughter of Egypt", and promised to bring her killers to justice.
CRACKDOWN
Critics say the police, whose power waned as Mubarak fell, have made a comeback and now act with impunity, a charge the Interior Ministry denies. Nearly all the 100 policemen tried for killing protesters in the 2011 revolt were acquitted.
In another case, the prosecutor said an investigation into the death of an activist in 2013 showed he died as a result of a car accident, contradicting accounts by two security sources at the time that he was beaten unconscious in detention.
Critics say Sisi has returned Egypt to authoritarian rule on the pretext of clamping down on militants who have killed hundreds of soldiers and policemen since Mursi's ouster.
The government denies rights abuses and says the Brotherhood is a terrorist group that threatens national security. The movement says it is committed to peaceful activism.
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