The Justice Ministry has drafted new legislation that would impose harsher punishments for police torture.
The bill stipulates that in deaths resulting from police violence, the perpetrators will be charged with premeditated murder, according to a copy obtained by Al-Masry Al-Youm.
Police who are referred to court in such cases often face charges of beating the victim to death, which carries a lighter sentence than murder.
Policemen or public employees who torture or order the torture of citizens, causing them physical or psychological harm to obtain a confession or information, to punish them for a crime or on a discriminatory basis will be sentenced to rigorous imprisonment, according to the draft law.
That penalty would also apply to authorities who incite or are silent about such acts.
The ministry also wants police who arrest or detain citizens without legal grounds to receive prison sentences between one and 10 years and fines up to LE30,000.
Police brutality, corruption and torture were some of the primary factors that fueled the 25 January revolution. Former President Hosni Mubarak’s police force was notorious for torturing suspects, often to death, and committing human rights violations.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
