Mohamed Abdel Hakim (Afrotto)
Mohamed Abdel Hakim, also known as Afrotto, was a 22-year-old man who was arrested on the 4th on January 2018. On the next day, his parents were informed that he “died” inside a detention room at the police station at Al-Mokattam the police claimed. According to local news reports the deceased overdosed on drugs, however, the forensics report proved that his death was caused by “erosion of the spleen, internal bleeding in the stomach, and not caused by the consumption of a drug,” as reported by the BBC website at the time.
In testimony by the deceased’s brother, Mahmoud Abdel Hakim, as reported by the Masryeen new site his brother states that Mohamed had never taken drugs or stepped foot inside a police station in his life.
He also said: “There was an argument between my brother Mohamed and a police officer which was the reason for what happened,” the brother continued his testimony explaining that In one of the coffee shops he used to sit in with his friends, a police officer came and asked him for his identification card. A verbal argument ensued with the officer attacking Mohamed and leading him to the police station. The next day his family was informed that he “died” and the was accused by police of dealing and trafficking drugs.
Despite the unprecedented repression that Egypt is going through, when his family, friends found out about his murder they gathered by the dozens in front of the police station demanding punishment for those who killed him. The police fired tear gas to disperse them and arrested many of them. A few days later and on the 8th of January 2018 the Public Prosecutor decided to detain 2 police officers who worked at Al-Mokattam Police Station for 24 hours on grounds of investigating the incident.
Later, the Southern Cairo Cases Prosecution has referred 102 relatives and friends of the deceased to the Misdemeanor Court at Al-Mokattam with charges of protesting in front of Al-Mokattam Police Station. On November 28th, 2018, the court has sentenced 99 of them to a year in prison.
As for the murderers, on the 11th of November 2018, one police officer was given a 3-year prison sentence and another officer a 6-year sentence, charged with beating a detainee to death inside the police station.