Egypt refers 9 policemen to trial over doctors assault

CAIRO – Egypt’s top prosecutor says he has referred nine policemen accused of assaulting doctors in a Cairo hospital earlier this year, to trial.

Public prosecutor Nabil Sadek says in a statement Wednesday that the low-ranking policemen are charged with “detaining, beating up and verbally assaulting the doctors, and abusing their power.”

The case dates back to a Jan. 28 dispute when a police officer demanded immediate treatment for a wound that a doctor said was superficial. One policeman pulled out a gun and others violently forced two doctors into a vehicle and drove them to a police station.

The incident sparked protests by thousands of doctors in Cairo in February, a rare occurrence under President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, when all unauthorized demonstrations have been banned.