CAIRO: The former head of Giza security Usamah al-Marassi, who was recently acquitted in the killing of Egyptian protesters, cast his vote on Sunday in the 6 of October city, on the outskirts of Cairo. At least 1,000 protesters were killed when security forces and police opened fire on Egyptian protesters, who wanted a democratic change, in January and February 2011. Marassi and five other high profile security officials were recently acquitted by a court, which drove thousands of Egyptians out to the streets, protesting the ruling. The same case saw ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak and his former minister of interior Habib al-Adly sentenced to life in jail (25 years in the Egyptian penal code). Among the newly freed officials is Ismael al-Sha'er, the former head of Cairo's security, who many activists say was personally involved in putting into place a strategy of attack and hold him responsible for the murder of Egyptian civilians. Activists called the ruling a part of the “acquittal festival” of “criminals of the old regime” and have protested non-stop, calling for the “cleansing of the judiciary system.”
