An Alexandria criminal court ruled on Tuesday to sentence police officer Osama al-Kneesy, who was charged with killing al-Sayed Bilal, to 15 years in prison. 

Kneesy had asked the court for a retrial after being sentenced, in absentia, to life-imprisonment over his complicity, along with a number of other police officers, in the killing of Bilal.

Bilal, a Salafi (ultraconservative), who was arrested following a church explosion that left over 20 people killed at the beginning of 2011 (before an uprising toppled Hosni Mubarak), was tortured to death during his detention. 

Kneesy was not the first defendant to appeal for a retrial, state security officer Mahmoud Abdel Aleem, who had appealed his verdict, was acquitted last December. 

Three other defendants are involved in the case, including one who was sentenced to 15 years in prison like Kneesy.  

Activists often compare the murder of Bilal to that of Khaled Saeed whose death sparked anger that led to the Jan. 25 uprising.