Egypt: Soft on Cops Verdict May Rekindle Revolt

Two police officers have been sentenced to seven years in prison for assault that led to the death of Khaled Said, the young man whose murder in Alexandria has fueled the Egyptian revolution. Netizens are angry at what they describe as a lenient sentence and a slap to the revolution and its scream for justice.
Said, killed at the hands of policemen in June 2010, has become an icon of the Egyptian revolution. His murder fueled discontent among young Egyptians in the weeks leading to the revolution after images of his battered body went viral.
And this sentence has renewed calls for a fresh revolution among Egypt's youth.
On Twitter, Ahmed Aggour asks [ar]:

أُمّال فين الإعلام الحر؟ فين إستقلال القضاء؟ فين المحاكمات؟ فين تطهير الداخلية؟ فين أمن الدولة؟

@Psypherize: So where is the free Press? And the independent judiciary? And the fair trials? And the cleansing of the Interior Ministry? And the State Security?

The Big Pharaoh screams:

@TheBigPharaoh: WHAT?? The killers of #khaledsaid were sentenced to only 7 yrs?? That's a message to us: even your revolution's symbol doesn't count anymore

Rania Samir hopes [ar]:

يارب خالد سعيد يبقي الشرارة اللي تطلق الثورة التانية زي ما كان سبب في الأولي

@Rania1_: I hope Khaled Said becomes the spark that ignites the second revolution just like he was the cause of the first one

Tamer Fakahany adds:

@TamerFakahany: #Egypt activists condemn light sentence for #KhaledSaid death, revolution said to be not sweeping away endemic corruption & injustice.

And Baraka18 quotes Khaled Said's uncle as saying:

@Baraka18: Ali Qassem (Khaled's uncle): “The response to the verdict will be on the street and not inside the court”

Egyptian journalist Aya el Batrawy reminds us of Said's murder.

@ayaelb: #KhaledSaid is #Egypt's Mohammed Bouazizi. Said died when 2 plainclothes police dragged him out of an Internet cafe and beat him to death.

and she continues:

@ayaelb: Police claim #KhaledSaid choked on packet of drugs he swallowed, but forensic reports showed it was forced after death

Ayman Farag names the officers responsible for Said's death:

@aymanscribbler: Mahmoud Salah Mahmoud and Awad Ismael Soliman, the policemen who murdered Khaled Said, get 7 years. #jan25

Journalist Evan Hill quips:

@evanchill: So you can beat someone until death in egypt and get 7 years. Just don't “murder” them. #khaledsaid

Sarrah Abdelrahman is angry:

@sarrahsworld: No! I will not let this depress me. I will let it ANGER ME!!!!!!! Time for the revolution!!! Bring it on ya 3askar (military)!!

Blogger Amr Gharbeia calls for change [ar]:

خالد سعيد حقه مش أن اثنين يدانوا بضرب والا بقتل. حقه أن ما يحصلش ثاني أبدا. أن البوليس والمحاكم وكل نظام العدالة الجنائية يتغير

@gharbeia: Khaled Said right is not that two are convicted of beating or killing him. His right is that such a crime never takes place again and that the police, courts and all the criminal justice system is changed

And Egyptian Abo Ghal adds sarcastically [ar]:

بعد هذا الحكم الرائع يجب علينا ان نستعد بماذا سنفعل عند براءة كل من المظاليم (حسني مبارك,جمال مبارك,علاء مبارك,صفوت الشريف,نظيف)

@AboGahl1: After this great verdict, we need to prepare ourselves for what we will do after all those unjustly held, like Hosni Mubarak, Jamal Mubarak, Alaa Mubarak, Safwat Al Shareef and Nazeef, are declared innocent.

Hana Zuhair jokes:

@Hana_Zuhair: At this rate, #Mubarak will receive money in compensation for disturbing his sleep on the stretcher by taking him to court. #KhaledSaid

This post is part of our special coverage Egypt Revolution 2011.

Written by Amira Al Hussaini