Cairo Criminal Court on Wednesday adjourned to 5 June the case against police officer Ehab Samy Lotfy, who is charged with the attempted murder of seven unarmed protesters outside the Moqattam Police Station on 28 January last year.

The defendant’s legal team said he “was not outside the police station at the time of the events and that he was securing a peaceful protest in Moqattam’s main square far from the station.”

One of his lawyers said statements the victim allegedly made to the prosecution were contradictory and that there were no witnesses to support the prosecution’s case. He added that all of the witnesses’ statements were based on hearsay.

The lawyer alleged that the “victims accused his client because of prior differences between them, as four of the civil rights plaintiffs are registered criminals.”

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm