Egyptian policeman to face trial over 'cup of tea' killing

An Egyptian policeman accused of shooting dead a street vendor in an alleged dispute over the price of a cup of tea will stand trial, a prosecution official said on Wednesday, amid growing outrage in the country at police abuses.

The prosecution referred Zeinhom Abdel Razzaq to a criminal court on charges of murder and attempted murder, the official said.

The low-ranking policeman also wounded two bystanders in the incident in a Cairo suburb on 19 April.

Abdel Razzaq was named by the Egyptian interior ministry in a statement posted on Facebook amid outcry on social media over the shooting.

“This because of a cup of tea that costs one pound!” shouted one man, crouched over a large bloody spot belonging to the victim on the ground, in a video posted on Twitter. “He was shot in the back and the chest. I swear to God this is oppression!”

A security official said the officer involved was arrested after dozens of bystanders protested at the scene of the shooting in an eastern suburb of the capital, chanting: "The police are thugs."

The incident occured in the Rehab City, an eastern district of New Cairo city. An angry crowd later smashed the police vehicle that Abdel Razzaq drove, with only his partner inside the car. Abdel Razzaq was later arrested. 

Egypt's police have been on the defensive after rights groups denounced alleged widespread torture and deaths in detention, as well as arbitrary arrests and the forced disappearances of government opponents.

The alleged abuses are reminiscent for many Egyptians of those perpetrated by police under the rule of longtime president Hosni Mubarak, who was toppled in 2011 partly as a result of public outrage over impunity for security services.

Earlier this month, an Egyptian court sentenced a policeman to life in prison for shooting dead a taxi driver over a fare dispute.

Mohamed Ali Sayed Ismail was shot dead by the policeman over a fare dispute on 18 February in Cairo, leading to disturbances and calls for action against police abuses.

Thousands of doctors held a protest earlier this year against the police after officers allegedly assaulted two doctors in a hospital.

Several policemen have been detained for violence against prisoners and some have been sentenced to jail in the past year.