The Cairo Criminal Court postponed Saturday to 28 July the first trial session in the trial of two Homeland Security officers accused of torturing a lawyer, named Kareem Hamdy, to death. The two officers were released on bail, with the court banning them from travelling outside the country. The officers, a lieutenant colonel and a major, are standing trial on charges of "beating until death". The court recited the charges to the defendants, who denied the accusations. Although Egyptian lawyers launched a general strike Saturday in all courts across Egypt, the head of the Lawyers' Syndicate attended the trial session and demanded the defendants be in detention until the coming session. However, the request was denied by the court. Hamdy was arrested on 22 February, allegedly on charges of belonging to an outlawed group and possession of weapons, and reportedly died two days later. The lawyers filing the lawsuit demanded the testimony of the head officer in the Mataryia police station, where Hamdy died, and of the forensics responsible for the autopsy of Hamdy's body. Previously, the forensics report said the body came from the Matariya hospital, where he received defibrillation shocks, but was unresponsive. He had injuries to the neck, chest, hands, legs, and knees. The report cited bruises and cuts on the victim's body, adding the presence of considerable damage to the area of the genitals. Since the beginning of the year, reports of deaths in custody have been on the rise.
