The Damanhour Criminal Court sentenced a Rashid police station police officer to five years in prison on Thursday for “beating a detainee to death”. The court further acquitted two other defendants, a conscript and an informant.

The 32-year-old victim, Al-Sayed Al-Kosbary, from Beheira, was arrested last May. He was severely beaten and dragged on the ground in the process, then taken to Rashid police station. He was accused of possessing a firearm, and also charged with resisting authorities along with a number of his relatives.

Al-Haqaniya Law Center previously reported that the issue relates to when Al-Kosbary was arrested by security forces from his workplace in Rashid (Rosetta), a coastal city of the governorate, with no charges.

The three main suspects, who faced murder charges, were a 24-year-old police officer (sentenced), along with a 37-year-old conscript (acquitted) and a 38-year-old police informant (acquitted).

The verdict arrived two days before a Cairo court is set to issue a verdict on two police officers accused of killing lawyer Kareem Hamdy inside a police station.