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Egypt court to rule on activist death Sept. 24

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 08:07 GMT

Source: reuters // Reuters

* Khaled Said sought to expose police drug dealing

* Said's death led to widely followed Facebook site

(Adds quote from judge, background)

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt, June 30 (Reuters) - An Egyptian court said on Thursday it would rule on Sept. 24 in the case of two policemen charged with beating to death activist Khaled Said, whose death partly inspired protests that toppled Hosni Mubarak.

Dozens of people had gathered at the court since the early hours of the morning expecting to hear a verdict on Thursday.

A court document said the ruling would be on Sept. 24.

"The court has decided to assign a medical committee to investigate two autopsy reports and pictures while the accused remain in custody." Judge Moussa Al-Nahrawy said in a session at the court in the coastal city of Alexandria.

Some among the crowd outside the court chanted slogans against the Interior Ministry, while others waved Egyptian flags and held up pictures of Said's battered face.

"Interior Ministry , Interior Ministry, Khaled's blood is precious," the group chanted.

Activists say policemen killed Said, 28, after the activist and blogger posted a video on the Internet showing police dealing in drugs.

The death of Said led other activists to form a Facebook group in sympathy with his death called "We are all Khalid Said" that attracted thousands of Egyptians and became a channel for communication among protesters who toppled Mubarak on Feb. 11.

Earlier this month hundreds of Egyptians staged a silent protest in the streets of Alexandria to honour the first anniversary of Said's death. [ID:nLDE7551TP] (Reporting by Abdel Rahman Youssef; Writing by Yasmine Saleh; Editing by Matthew Jones)