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Police officer appeals verdict in Shaimaa Al-Sabbagh's murder case Convicted officer was sentenced to 15 years, victim's aunt says ‘there should have been retribution'
The Cassation Court will look into the case of a police officer on 14 February, who was charged in June for killing political activist Shaimaa Al-Sabbagh. The convict has appealed a final prison verdict, according to state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper. Yassin Salah, an officer from the Central Security Forces (CSF) from the department of the Ministry of Interior, was handed a strict jail term of 15 years by the Cairo Criminal Court on 11 June, five months after Al-Sabbagh's death. Upon hearing the news, Al-Sabbagh's aunt, who raised her, was deeply disappointed. "They must have guts to do this," she told Daily News Egypt Tuesday. "Indeed, he received a harsh sentence but the right punishment for that crime was retribution". Al-Sabbagh was a member of the Socialist Popular Alliance Party (SPAP), and was shot dead on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the 25 January Revolution, in a march organised by the party near Tahrir Square. Her death had sparked public anger against police violence. Further, the subsequent prosecution of SPAP members and eyewitnesses of the events on charges of violating the Protest Law increased the outrage. A misdemeanour court had later acquitted party members and established that the march was not a political protest, and was peaceful and limited to less than 30 persons . Reports by the Forensic Medicine Authority, as well as video evidence of the incidents and prosecution authorities' investigations, revealed that the officer had fired birdshots from a rifle designated for tear gas bombs, despite the Interior Ministry's denial of using birdshots, which was widely viewed as attempts to cover up for the crime. Al-Sabbagh was originally from Alexandria, and left behind a six-year-old son.
