Sayed Belal torture case postponed to December in Egypt

The Alexandria Criminal Court has postponed the murder case of Sayed Bilal, who was tortured to death by State Security Investigations Service (SSIS) officers in 2011, to 20 December. The court had already sentenced one officer, Abdel Rahman El-Sheimy, to 15 years in prison and another four officers, Hossam El-Shenawy, Osama El-Kenisy, Ahmed Mustafa Kamel and Mahmoud Abel-Aleem Mahmoud, in absentia to life sentences (25 years). Mahmoud is being retried by the court after giving himself up and requesting a retrial in October. The murder took place after Bilal was arrested on 4 January 2011 during investigations by the now-dissolved SSIS into the New Year’s Eve bombing of the Two Saints Church in Alexandria.