Activist shot dead in Cairo by police: April 6 Movement

A youth-led activist group in Egypt on Thursday said one of its members had died from head wounds sustained after police forcibly dispersed a protest in western Cairo on Wednesday.

In a statement the April 6 Youth Movement said Khaled al-Rasheedi, a former soldier, had been shot in the head by police, who stormed Nahia village in Giza province on Wednesday.

"The security forces used live ammunition, birdshot and teargas in an attempt to clear the roads in the village, when al-Rasheedi was shot in the head," the group said in a statement.

The activist succumbed to the injury hours later.

Health Ministry official Ahmed al-Ansari confirmed the death without saying who was behind the shooting.

"Al-Rasheedi died today morning of his wounds in a Cairo hospital," he said, according to Anadolu Agency.

April 6 is comprised mainly of young political activists and was a key player in the movement that led to Egypt’s January 2011 revolution, which brought an end to Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule.

April 6 also opposed ousted president Mohamed Morsi, who was overthrown in a popularly-backed military coup in July 2013.

Movement founders Ahmed Maher and Mohamed Adel are currently serving a three-year jail term for staging an unlicensed protest in November of last year. They were convicted of violating Egypt’s controversial protest law, which, among other things, requires government approval for gatherings of more than 10 people in a public space.

In May April 6 was banned by the Cairo government for allegedly engaging in espionage and defaming the Egyptian state – a decision that prompted a defiant response from the group who have refused to cease their activities.