Egyptian policeman jailed for beating disabled man

CAIRO (Reuters) - A court in Alexandria sentenced a police officer to five years in jail on Saturday for detaining and beating a mentally disabled man, court and security sources said.

The officer, a major named Akram Suleiman, arrested the man in July 2008, took him to a police station in Alexandria and beat him, the sources said.

The 29-year-old victim, identified as Ragaa'i Sultan, was detained without charge for eight days before police transferred him to hospital, where he had surgery to remove a blood clot in his brain caused by the beating, the sources added.

Activists and rights groups have long accused Egyptian police of mistreating detainees with impunity. Dozens of video clips of apparent abuse have been posted on internet sites in recent years.