Egyptian officials on Thursday delayed a verdict on the police officers who are suspected in the killing of Khaled Said, the young man who was beaten to death a year ago—an incident that was a key factor in sparking the mass anti-government protests last January.
Said, 28, was allegedly dragged from a cybercafe by plainclothes police officers in Alexandria and beaten to death. It caused widespread public outrage against then President Hosni Mubarak’s regime. His name was taken up as the calling card of disaffected youth at the beginning of the uprising, when a prominent Facebook group, “We are all Khaled Said,” was created.
A judge said on Thursday that the case will be postponed until Sept. 24 because the court needs to re-examine elements in the case against the police officers, reported Egypt’s Ahram Online.
The court said that a committee made up of university professors needs to examine Said’s corpse and create a new forensic report.
Amnesty International, in a statement issued on Wednesday, called on Egyptian officials to make sure that justice is carried out.
“A year after his death, Khaled Said’s family still waits for justice. His case highlights the widely shared belief that the Egyptian authorities are still not doing enough to deliver justice,” said Malcolm Smart, head of Amnesty’s regional division in the Middle East and North Africa.
Justice needs to be meted out “not only for Khaled Said but for all those unlawfully killed and injured by the security forces during mass protests earlier this year,” Smart noted.
Over the past two days, protesters gathered in Tahrir Square in the most intense demonstrations since the toppling of Mubarak’s regime in February.