CAIRO — Riot police fired tear gas Saturday to disperse demonstrators throwing stones outside an Alexandria courtroom where the city’s ex-security director and other officers are on trial for the killing of protesters during Egypt’s 2011 uprising.
Mohammed Ibrahim, the former security director of the Mediterranean coastal city, faces trial along with five other police officers for taking part in excessive violence against protesters during the revolt that ousted Hosni Mubarak.
Dozens of demonstrators had gathered outside the courthouse to express anger over what they see as a lack of accountability for the killing of protesters. Those who took part in the uprising say the nation’s legacy of police impunity and the use of brute force by security agencies cannot be ended without real reform.
Activists and family members of those killed in Alexandria during the uprising led the demonstration outside the courtroom ahead of the start of Saturday’s trial. Most of their slogans focused on the police but it was not immediately clear how the clashes broke out. There were no immediate reports of injury.
Nearly 100 police officers have been brought to trial in a string of cases since Mubarak was deposed on Feb. 11, 2011. All were acquitted or received suspended sentences on charges of killing and wounding protesters.
Out of more than 900 people killed nationwide in the anti-Mubarak protests, some 300 people were reportedly killed in Alexandria during the 18-day revolt.