Police officer sentenced to 8 years in prison over death of Ismailia vet

Alexandria Criminal Court sentenced a police officer to eight years in prison over the death of a veterinarian tortured in police custody, local media reported on Wednesday. 

Veterinary surgeon Afify Hosni was assaulted by officer Mohamed Ibrahim at his wife’s pharmacy in Ismailia last November, before he was arrested and tortured to death at a police station. Hosni's death sparked angry protests in the Suez Canal governorate, putting pressure on the state to prosecute the officer responsible.

The officer had repeatedly harassed the couple prior to the attack, according to Hosni's wife Reem Ahmed, who recounted the incident on a television show in November. 

Video footage from the pharmacy’s surveillance camera circulated on television and online, showing the officer and two men violently arresting Hosni at the pharmacy. An autopsy later revealed signs of torture on his body.

Ibrahim was convicted of manslaughter, fabricating official documents and insulting Hosni's wife.

This sentence comes amid a growing protest movement nationwide, led by the Doctors Syndicate, following the assault of two doctors in Matareya Hospital in late January, and the assault of three doctors in November in Banha Hospital by a man posing as a police officer. 

Although both local and international rights groups have heavily criticized Egypt's Interior Ministry for what they deem institutionalized practices of violence and torture, the ministry insists it is punishing rogue officers for proven violations. In January, Alexandria Administrative Court ruled that individual police officers are now responsible for compensating victims of torture, rather than the Interior Ministry.