Six Egyptian police officers cleared of killing 83 protesters during 2011 uprising

Protests continued in Alexandria last month

Six police officers in Egypt were cleared yesterday of killing 83 protesters during the country's pro-democracy uprising in 2011.

Human rights groups denounced the ruling as politically motivated and another example of the authorities failing to punish security services personnel guilty of abuses.

Police were accused of firing at protesters from rooftops in Alexandria during the 2011 revolution that unseated president Hosni Mubarak. Lawyers for the officers, which included the former head of security and riot police, denied the men were behind the killings.

According to local media, the defence blamed the protester deaths in Alexandria on Mohamed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, which has been declared a terrorist organisation by Egypt's interim government.

It came as Mr Morsi, who was deposed as the country's president last July by a military coup, appeared in court facing charges, along with about 130 others, relating to a prison break during the 2011 revolution which freed 20,000 inmates, including him.