Court of Cassation upholds three death sentences, cancels four

CAIRO – 20 January 2017: On Saturday, the Court of Cassation upheld the death sentence for three defendants and the 10-year prison sentence for five others, while it reduced the verdict from death to lifetime sentence to four defendants over killing a police major-general in 2013.

The twelve defendants appealed the Giza Criminal Court verdicts against them for killing Major-General Nabil Farrag, who was shot dead by one of the defendants.

Although Farrag was wearing a bulletproof vest, convict Ahmed Said shot him dead in the right side of his chest.

Farrag was amongst the police and army forces who broke into the Kerdasah neighborhood on September 19, 2013 to arrest the militants hiding there after the dismantling of the Rabaa and Nahda sit-ins in August of the same year.

These sit-ins were dominated by members and supporters of the outlawed-Muslim Brotherhood after the ousting of former President Mohamed Morsi over mass protests on July 3, 2013. The sit-ins were loaded with firearms and were used by the brotherhood members to torture and murder citizens suspected of spying on them.

Farrag was one of 13 officers and policemen who were killed on the mission which was launched in response to an attack by these militants on the Kerdasah Police Department killing 11 officers and policemen. The incident is called “Kerdasah Massacre”.

The prosecution was assumed over seven sessions before the Giza Criminal Court issued the verdicts in August 2014. Defendants were convicted of deliberately killing Farrag, attempting to kill police personnel, illegal acquisition of firearms, ammunition, explosives, spy gadgets, and resisting law enforcement forces.