Egypt Jails Policeman For Role In Islamist Deaths

A court in Cairo sentenced a police officer to 10 years in jail Tuesday for his part in the deaths of 37 Islamists last year.

Lieutenant Col Amr Farouk was jailed for his role in the asphyxiation deaths of members of the Muslim Brotherhood as well as their supporters. Three other police officers were also convicted and given one-year suspended sentences, reports Reuters.

The Interior Ministry claimed at the time that the prisoners had died from gas suffocation while attempting an escape. However it was later confirmed the men were killed by asphyxiation in the back of a cramped police van while they were being transported to a prison on the edge of Cairo.

Since the ouster of Egypt’s Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 in response to widespread protests against his rule, the Egyptian government has been cracking down heavily on the Islamist movement. The Muslim Brotherhood has accused them of committing systematic human rights abuses. However the government has denied the allegations and labeled the Brotherhood a terrorist group.

[Reuters]