Egypt seeks to distance police from protester killing
Egypt has sought to distance the police from the weekend shooting death of a female protester, saying a forensic examination shows she was killed by a type of projectile that is "absolutely" not used by security forces.
A senior official from the Interior Ministry, which is in charge of the police, also dismissed as "inconsequential" video clips showing two masked, black-clad policemen pointing their rifles in her direction as gunshots rang out and a voice commanded "fire."
The official, Gamal Mukhtar, said Wednesday that police had no need to use force to disperse the small protest in which the slain activist, 32-year-old mother Shaimaa el-Sabbagh, participated.
He did not explain why police used tear gas to disperse the protest, as stated by the country's top prosecutor.
