A criminal court held the trial session of 11 defendants accused of shooting dead the former Deputy Director of Giza Security in the city of Kerdasa, Nabil Farrag, and postponed it to 6 December to continue hearing witness testimonies.

Former Forensic Authority spokesman Hisham Abdel Hameed testified during the trial session that Farrag was killed from a distance of approximately 20 metres with a live round that hit him on the right side of his chest. The shot caused lacerations in the heart and lungs, leading to Farrag’s death.

Abdel Hameed added that the live round could be matched with the weapon from which it was shot, as each weapon has its own “fingerprint”.

The Giza Criminal Court had postponed the retrial on 24 October to continue hearing witness testimonies.

The 11 defendants had been handed preliminary death sentences in June on charges of “forming an illegal militant group, the premeditated murder of former Security Chief Nabil Farrag, and attacking police and army forces, Christians, and local churches”.

Deputy Director of Giza Security Nabil Farrag was killed in September 2013 during a joint security operation launched by the police and army in the village of Kerdasa in Giza. The city, which lies near the Giza governorate, was allegedly a centre for Islamist groups sympathising with former president Mohamed Morsi since his ouster in July 2013.

The operation was launched nearly a month following the storming of the Kerdasa police station, which led to the death of 11 policemen and two civilians.