An Egyptian military court on Tuesday sentenced an army soldier to three years in prison for killing ten-year-old street vendor Omar Salah in February.
On 3 February, Salah, a seller of sweet potatoes, was killed when the soldier shot him while manning a security checkpoint near the US embassy in Cairo.
The soldier, who insisted that Salah’s death had been accidental, had been detained since 15 February on charges of manslaughter and failure to obey military orders.
In the wake of the incident, military spokesman Ahmed Ali issued a formal apology for what he described as the unintentional killing of Salah, stressing that Egypt’s armed forces remained committed to following the correct legal procedures.