CAIRO: A Cairo court handed a police aide, who is accused of shooting dead 33 protesters outside a police station, a second death sentence on Sunday. The first sentence against Mohamed al-Sunni was issued last May where he was condemned by the court of killing Egyptians in the first ruling against those responsible for killing protesters in the 18 days of uprising that ousted former Egypt President Hosni Mubarak. The officer opened fire randomly outside the police station of al-Zaiwya al-Hamarah at hundreds of protesters, killing dozens before dropping his weapon and fleeing the scene on January 28, the Day of Anger. Al-Sunni, an assistance aide officer in the police station, has been missing for almost 11 months and his current whereabouts remain unknown. The assistant denied the charges against him during several TV phone interviews, saying a “third party” was shooting at protesters from rooftops of surrounding buildings, and said he never shot a single bullet from his gun. Eyewitnesses and online videos clearly show the man shooting indiscriminately at people, leaving behind 33 dead and several people injured. BM
