Egypt: Police Officers Acquitted of 2011 Killings
Source: ABC News
An Egyptian court acquitted six police officers Saturday on charges of killing 83 protesters during the country's 2011 revolution, the latest in a string of trials that rights group say failed to hold the country's security forces accountable for demonstrators' deaths.
The acquittals come as ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, toppled in July by the military, faces a host of criminal charges. Morsi appeared Saturday in court and shouted from inside a soundproof defendants' cell, urging his supporters to continue protests and vowing to try the country's military chief and Republican Guards commander for killing his supporters.
The police officers' case involved the killing of protesters in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria and included the former head of security in the city and of the riot police. Prosecutors alleged that commanders armed police with live ammunition and allowed officers to shoot at protesters in front of police stations from nearby rooftops.
Lawyers for the officers denied that they were responsible for the killings. During a Jan. 19 hearing, lawyers referred to Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood group as the "real killers" of the protesters, the state-run daily newspaper Al-Ahram reported.
Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/egypt-acquits-policemen-2011-uprising-case-22629750
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