An appeals court halved the jail time of an abusive husband, who was sentenced to a year in prison for hitting a policeman who came to his flat over a domestic violence report.
Last month, the High Criminal Court sentenced the 40-year-old Egyptian to a year in prison for assaulting a public security officer, and disrespecting him and his partner.
The sentence was reduced to six months by the Supreme Criminal Appeals Court, which stated in its verdict that it had been ‘re-evaluating the penalty’.
Judges upheld an order to deport the expat to his home country after completing his time in prison.
The court heard that, earlier that day, the appellant had pulled his wife by the hair in front of bystanders in their neighbourhood and damaged her phone.
She had called the police earlier that day, complaining that an argument between her and her husband had escalated into domestic violence.
The 38-year-old policeman and his partner were despatched to the unhappy couple’s residence in A’ali, but the Egyptian was hostile towards them as soon as they approached him.
“When I arrived, I saw that a Rescue Police patrol was already there, and the officer manning it led me to the defendant’s apartment,” the policeman earlier testified.
“I knocked on the door and the defendant came out, and I asked him whether or not there was an issue or dispute.
“He started yelling at me, saying: ‘this is none of your business, you aren’t police!’, even though I was wearing my uniform, so I showed him my identity card.”
The officer continued recounting the January incident, adding that he saw that there was a woman in the man’s company, so he asked her if she needed help.
According to the testimony, the defendant once again yelled at the officer, telling him to stay away from his wife.
He then reportedly pushed him to the wall, then hit his hand, but was soon subdued by colleagues. A medical report stated that the policeman sustained ‘minor bruises’ to his forearm.
A recording, which was attached in court files as part of the Public Prosecution’s case against the defendant, contained an 11-minute-long video of the entire incident. It showed the defendant open the apartment door, ask the policemen to prove their identities, then showed the yelling, pushing and hitting.
Ultimately, the video also showed the defendant’s arrest, as he was restrained by handcuffs.
He was sentenced to a year in prison in April but after lodging the appeal now faces six months behind bars.
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