Verdict in Egypt police brutality case delayed

An Egyptian court on Thursday postponed issuing a verdict in a high profile police brutality case until September, amid mounting frustration over the slow pace of reform since the ouster of president Hosni Mubarak. A large security presence had been deployed outside the courthouse in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria where dozens of activists had gathered to hear the ruling in the trial of two police officers accused of beating to death 28-year-old Khaled Said last year. "The ruling has been postponed to September," a judicial source told AFP. The trial comes against a backdrop of two days of bloody clashes in Cairo between police and protesters demanding democratic reforms after toppling Mubarak in February. In a statement on Thursday, Amnesty International urged Egyptian authorities "to ensure justice is done in the case." "A year after his death, Khaled Said's family still wait for justice," said Malcom Smart, Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Programme. "His case highlights the widely shared belief that the Egyptian authorities are still not doing enough to deliver justice - not only for Khaled Said but for all those unlawfully killed and injured by the security forces during the mass protests earlier this year," Smart said. "This belief is exacerbated by the slowness with which the authorities are handling trials of police officers accused of killing protesters during the uprising, when more than 800 died, and the fact that many of those facing trial have not been suspended from active duty and remain in positions where they can intimidate witnesses and subvert justice," he said. Police officers Mahmud Salah Amin and Awad Ismail Suleiman were accused of "unlawful arrest" and "excessive use of force" against Said, whose death on June 6 last year sparked nationwide protests and criticism abroad. According to witnesses, Said was approached by the two plain clothes policemen in an Internet cafe demanding to search him. When he refused, they dragged him out and beat him to death in plain view of passers-by. Routine police abuse and torture was a driving force behind the massive popular protests that ousted Mubarak.