CAIRO: The verdict on Wednesday in slain activist Khaled Said's case where his two policemen killers were handed 7 years each, started a week of anger in Egypt instead of what could have been sighs of relief. The following evening, reports began circulating that 24-year-old Essam Atta was tortured to death in his prison cell and his body dumped in front of the Qasr el-Aini hospital. The Said verdict and torture of Atta set the stage for protests on Friday that galvanized thousands of Egyptians to take to the streets. But as they marched, a dispute between a 19-year-old boy and a police officer ended witht the officer shooting the man dead and wounding another. Anger was ripe in Egypt, beginning on Wednesday. A number of activists protested outside the court house in the Manshiya district of Alexandria following the verdict's announcement on Wednesday. They protested the sentences, calling it “disappointing” after the case remained in court for over a year and half. The sentence will put two small level police officers in jail for 7 years each for killing Said in June 2010. The original investigations in the case were meant to be closed earlier, but constant public pressure and protests forced the case to remain open. The sentence ignored the supervising officers, who allegedly gave orders to their aides, which was frustrating to those following the case. Said's lawyer said the verdict “came as a shock” when speaking to journalists after the sentence, adding that it was murder with intent, according to the coronary report, “so the sentence is too lenient.” He said they are appealing the case. The Arabic Network For Human Rights Information (ANHRI) also condemned the sentences and demanded the resignation of the Attorney General. “The general prosecutor and his aids must resign immediately,” said the free expression NGO in a statement following the verdict. “It is appropriate for the GP to issue an apology to Said's family and and the Egyptian people for their poor job performance.” Said was killed after posting a video on police corruption online. The two sentenced oficers dragged him out of an Internet cafe and beat him to death in the open street. The police wanted to bury the case, saying Said was involved with drugs and that he died after swallowing a large amount of marijuana wrapped in plastic. A picture of Said's tortured and mangled face appeared online and a public movement against police cruelty was born. Said's death helped galvanize thousands of young people for change and was a moving force in the Egyptian uprising earlier this year. On Thursday, 24-year-old Atta's body was discovered in front of the Cairo hospital. According to the al-Nadeem Center for Rehabilitation and Torture, Essam Atta suffered a severe drop in blood pressure and heart failure after being tortured by police officials at Tora prison. According to the man's lawyer and others familiar with the case, Atta was reportedly tortured to death after prison guards discovered a SIM card in his cell. Inmates at the prison were reported to have told the Nadeem Center that prison guards pushed hoses into the man's mouth and anus, which led to him bleeding to death. He was serving two years in jail, after being convicted by a military court on February 25 for an unspecified crime. Nadeem Center's chief Aida Seif al-Dowla called on Egyptians to support the man's family, and they responded by launching campaigns on the micro-blogging site Twitter and on Facebook in the same fervor that the “We are all Khaled Said” page in June of 2010 sparked widespread anger and developed into giving Egyptians more cause to take to the streets. Angering Egyptians even further was the manner in which Atta's body was dropped in front of the Qasr el-Aini hospital in critical condition. Doctors were unable to save the man. “Even if we do not have SCAF, we have a police mentality corrupted and sick enough to make our life like hell if we do no take the correct decision and stand,” wrote leading blogger Zeinobia shortly after the news was made public. “The police force should be disbanded … we got unemployed youth enough to fill in. “Torture in Egyptian jails is not the product of SCAF rule or Mubarak rule, it is the product of decades yet it will be not hard to stop it, not only to limit it but to stop it,” she added. On Friday, thousands of mourners and protesters carried Atta's coffin through the streets of Cairo, in one of the largest demonstrations in the country since July. The mood was anger, with chants against the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) loud and clear. Only a few blocks away, in front of the very hospital that Atta's body was dumped, a 19-year-old boy was shot dead by a police officer, and while the news was sporadically making its way to the demonstrations, those who did learn of the incident, were angered. One protester, standing and watching the protesters as gunfire was shot into the air in front of the American Embassy in Cairo, told Bikyamasr.com that he believes the revolution is “just beginning again and we have to stay and force change. The military and the police won't give it to us.” That seemed to be the week's mood, but for many activists maintaining that presence in the streets is an ardouous task that needs work. “We are angry, but people are not willing to take to the streets in large number anymore because they want to get on with their lives, so it is hard,” said another activist. BM
