CAIRO: A Samalut court on Saturday found the brother-in-law of a pregnant woman who was killed during a police raid of her apartment two weeks ago, not guilty of hiding stolen goods. Shaaban Sayed Riad, who was found innocent, is the brother in-law of Mervat Abdel Sattar, 30, who was almost nine months pregnant when she was allegedly killed by police in Samalut, Minya. When they raided her apartment in search of stolen goods they suspected Riad had hidden there, one of the officers allegedly pushed her to the floor, which led to her death. Riots erupted soon after news of her murder spread in the town and tens of people were arrested. The ruling comes as a shock to the police officers who, in collaboration with the general prosecution, thought they could cover up their illegal presence in Mervat s house, Malek Adly, Riad's lawyer from the Hisham Mubarak Law Center, told Daily News Egypt. According to Adly, it was an easy case because the police were trying to divert attention from Mervat's killing. "The police report had many flaws as they were trying to give legitimacy to their presence in Mervat's flat on the day of the incident, Adly said. Several newspapers reported that the officers in question were transferred to another police station. Adly, however, says this is not true. The accused officers had not been moved from their positions in the Samalut police station and they go about proudly and smoothly as if nothing has happened, he said. Mervat's husband filed charges against Ahmed Aboul Ezz, the officer who, according to testimonies, pushed and killed his wife. The Ministry of Interior arrested three members of Mervat's husband's family on accusations of resisting arrest to pressure Mervat s husband to drop the charges, Adly said. The three detainees are Mohamed Ashour Mousa, Mousa Ashour Mousa and Mervat s husband s uncle Rabie' Ashour Mousa, 53, who suffers from advanced stages of liver disease, and according to Adly, he was not allowed access to his medication since his arrest. "He is also not allowed to see a doctor and he is not being treated humanely. He also claims that he has been beaten, Adly said. He looks worse each time I go to see him. The court ordered their release on Oct. 18, but the prosecution objected and turned their case into a felony to keep them in detention. The three detainees are under constant threat and pressure in prison, says Adly. The uncle said he had a recent visit from an anonymous person who told Rabie that the officer Ahmed Abou Al Ezz is powerful and knows powerful people and that it would be better for him and for his entire family to get the husband to drop the charges.
