More than a decade after Egyptian poet and activist Shaimaa Al-Sabbagh was shot dead by police, her family has finally received compensation over her death.
Al-Sabbagh was killed while laying a wreath in memory of demonstrators who died during Egypt’s January 25 uprising, a day before the fourth anniversary of the 2011 protests.
She had placed flowers at a memorial in Cairo’s Tahrir Square honouring hundreds of people killed during the demonstrations when she was shot in the back with a type of pellet commonly used by police at the time to disperse protesters.
Her death was followed by a lengthy legal battle between her family and Egypt’s Interior Ministry over compensation.
According to the family’s lawyer, they received about 300,000 Egyptian pounds, equivalent to less than $6,000, last week, despite a court order issued in 2023 directing the payment.
Al-Sabbagh’s death turned her into a symbol of Egypt’s pro-democracy and human rights activism.
In 2020, the police officer held responsible for her death was sentenced to seven years in prison.
